Foxfire Bride

by Maggie Osborne

  And then there was Hobbs Jennings. Assuming, and it was a huge assumption, that she could kill Jennings without getting caught, she could never confess it to Tanner. So there would always be a secret between them. There would always be a chance that someday a posse would find her and then Tanner would learn that she'd killed a man he admired as much as he admired his father.

  Dropping her hands, she stared down at the oil and rags in her lap. Slowly, she ran a finger down the barrel of the gun. She didn't have to kill Jennings.

  The instant the thought passed her mind, every cell in her mind and body protested. It was not right that Hobbs Jennings should get away with stealing his dead wife's fortune and destroying his stepdaughter. The need to make Jennings pay for what he'd done was as much a part of Fox as her red braid and blue gray eyes. Hating him had kept her going during the bad times when she couldn't think of a reason for living.

  How could she walk away from her hatred without acting on it? How could she live with herself knowing she could have punished Jennings but had not? If she walked away from revenge, would a time come when she and Tanner looked at each other with resentment hot in their hearts? Over time, would love flare into blame as the impact of what they had given up took root? To be together, Tanner had to turn his back on his father, and she had to abandon the one goal she had dreamed of accomplishing for as long as she could remember. A single tear dropped on the back of her hand.

  That night they camped between the cliffs of the Grand Mesa and the waters of the Grand River, which they had caught up to again and would follow for several days. At supper they talked about the two dangerous sections of narrow canyons the Grand plunged through.

  "Can we detour around the canyons?" Tanner asked.

  Fox shook her head. "Following the river is the fastest cut through the mountains. Any other route would add at least two weeks to the journey."

  Jubal looked up. "How bad is it going to be?"

  "Through most of the canyons, we'll have to travel single file with only a few feet between rock walls and the water. A slip means disaster. The Grand shoots deep and fast through the canyons."

  "When do we reach those canyons, Missy?"

  "We'll enter the first set tomorrow morning." She peered into the dusk toward the north. "If I have this figured right, we'll reach the second set of canyons at the half-moon. That's good because there's no place in that canyon wide enough to pitch a camp. We'll continue until we come out the other side." When no one said anything, Fox drew a breath. "It's your decision," she said, speaking to Tanner, "but I'd suggest you disperse the money bags among four mules. That way, we don't risk everything if we lose the money mule."

  Standing, he extended a hand. "Let's take a walk and talk about it."

  Jubal rolled his eyes. "Nothing like a bath to make a man want to take a walk. Yes sir, that's what I always want to do after a bath."

  Ignoring the comment, Fox let Tanner take her hand as they moved toward the deeper shadows near a sheer rock wall. Neither spoke when Tanner turned her to face him. Fox cupped his face between her palms and tried to see his eyes through the falling darkness.

  "I can't grow your radishes, Tanner," she whispered. "I'd like to. But I can't. It just won't work, so don't go pushing."

  He kissed her with hungry passion, ravishing her mouth while his hands roamed to her waist. "Why?"

  Fox's eyelids dropped and she moaned softly. She knew that tone of voice, knew desire deepened the timbre. Already his hands had found bare skin and a shivery thrill shot through her body.

  "I'd be an embarrassment to you."

  Cupping her buttocks, he clasped her hard up against his erection, letting her feel the power of his need. "That's ridiculous." This time when his lips crushed hers, there was anger behind them.

  Struggling for breath, Fox pressed her hands against his chest. "You say that now, but"

  He smothered her words by forcing her lips apart with his tongue and tasted deeply of her. Slowly, they sank to the ground, locked in an embrace.

  "Tanner" She gasped his name, wanting to say something that fled her mind as his hands slid up under her shirt and found nipples that had risen rock hard in excitement. When his thumb scraped across the buds, she arched her back and forgot everything but the tension building beneath his hands and his tongue in the hollow of her throat.

  When neither of them could bear a minute longer the blaze of desire that brought sweat to temples and skin, they threw off their clothing and fell backward on the sparse grass, unmindful of small pebbles or insects. A stagecoach could have rattled past missing them by a few feet and Fox would not have noticed. Nothing existed except Tanner rising above her, muscles rippling down his chest, his gaze holding hers.

  They moved together in a symphony of their own making, and Fox was certain no other two people in the history of the world had created this magic between them. No other woman had felt what she felt for Matthew Tanner. No other man had known how to inflame a woman's sensations or how to take her to the pinnacle of joy and amazement.

  Afterward, they lay on top of their clothing, letting the cool night breezes dry their skin. Fox nestled her head in the hollow of his shoulder and smiled up at the growing moon. She was happy. At first she hadn't recognized the peculiar warm lightness expanding her chest. When she did, she had laughed aloud with delight.

  And she had come within a heartbeat of saying "I love you." Thankfully, she had stifled the powerful need to say the words, because once spoken, such words could not be recalled. And had she said the words she longed to speak, she would have complicated an already complex situation.

  "Fox? I want you to marry me. No, don't say anything," he said against the top of her head. "Just listen a minute. You and I are much alike. We share the same values and commitments to duty, loyalty, and honor. Both of us have been shaped by the past. I want to change that and I believe you do, too. I believe we can make a fresh start and a good life right here, in this valley."

  Closing her eyes, she turned her face against the warmth of his skin. He smelled faintly of river water and man sweat. "There's no such thing as a new start. People can't shake off the past like shaking mud off a boot. It's part of what and who we are, Tanner."

  "I'm trying to tell you it doesn't matter."

  "And I'm telling you that it does. Your father's opinion and approval are important to you, and I admire that. What son doesn't want his father's love and approval?" She waited a moment for the tightness in her throat to recede. "And there's something I have to do." Turning in his arms, she lifted to look into his eyes. "I have to do this, Tanner. I have to. If I fail, then I don't have that sense of duty and honor that you spoke of."

  "Do it. I'll help you. Then, whatever this is, we'll put it behind us and look forward."

  She dropped her forehead to his chin. "It can't happen that way."

  "You don't have to kill him, Fox."

  She stiffened in his arms. Of course he would guess.

  "We can go to the authorities."

  "I can't prove anything," she whispered. "My mother's cousin died. Peaches is the only other person who knows the truth. He was there the day I arrived. He saw my stepfather and he knows him by sight. Do you really think the authorities will believe the claims of a woman and a black man?" She shook her head.

  "You've implied that your stepfather is a prominent man. At the very least you could create a damaging scandal."

  She almost laughed. "Can you really think that would be enough?" Rolling away, she sat up and drew her knees to her chin, her eyes turning hard as ice. "Never! There were times when me and Peaches went hungry, Tanner." She thrust her hands out in front of her. "Every one of these calluses were earned by hard labor. I've been shot, beaten, humiliated. I've had to be tougher than any woman you ever met just to survive." She gave her head a savage shake. "No. Embarrassing that bastard with a scandal is not enough! I want him dead! That's all I've thought about for years and years."

  "Fox"

/>   "I should have killed him long ago. But I let his wealth and power intimidate me. And I didn't want to pay the price. Then, right before I met you, I decided the price wasn't too high. Dying to achieve justice is not too high a price!"

  "And you still feel that way?" he asked in a carefully expressionless voice.

  It would hurt him to hear that she put revenge above her love for him, and it would pain her to say it. But God help her, that was the truth.

  "I have to do this." It surprised her that her heart could break without making a sound. Dropping her head, she ground her forehead against the top of her knees. "I wish but I have to do this," she repeated. Behind her, she heard him dressing. Glanced to the side when he dropped her clothing beside her.

  "Tell me one thing, then I won't bother you with this again. If it wasn't for your stepfather, could we have worked out the rest? Could you have accepted my assurances that none of the other obstacles mattered?"

  "Maybe," she said after a minute. "It would have been hard to know I caused an estrangement between you and your father."

  "You wouldn't have been the sole cause."

  Fox nodded before rising and pulling on her trousers. His father would be furious to learn that his plans for Tanner's future would never happen. But maybe, eventually, he'd come around.

  They didn't speak again until they were almost in camp. Then Fox glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. "You never answered my question about why you work for Hobbs Jennings instead of for your father."

  "The answer doesn't matter anymore, does it?" Stopping beside the fire, Tanner led her gently into his arms and held her. "Is there any chance you'll change your mind and let go of the past?"

  A film of moisture blurred his face. "No." He made something impossible sound so easy. Just let it go. He might as well have asked her to simply forget about a cancer gnawing her heart.

  His arms closed around her so strongly it was almost painful and he gazed into the darkness with narrowed eyes and a tight mouth. "Will you do one thing for me?"

  "I'll try."

  "I'm going to pay the ransom and I'll remain in Denver until I'm certain my father has suffered no ill effects. Then I'm coming back to this valley. Can you wait two weeks to kill the son of a bitch? Until after I've gone?" Now he looked down at her. "I don't want to be there for the aftermath."

  Slowly, Fox nodded. If their positions had been reversed, she couldn't have borne to see him hanged either. "I can do that."

  He kissed her gently then set her away from him and walked into the darkness.

  Fox hadn't cried in years. She'd come close a few times, but always she'd been able to swallow back the tears. Tonight, she couldn't. She lay in her bedroll with a corner of the blanket clamped in her mouth to muffle any sound and wept for all the might-have-beens. Wept for the loss of a future she'd never been destined to have.

  Traversing the first set of canyons was as difficult and dangerous as Fox had predicted it would be. For part of the challenge they traveled on damp ground a few feet from raging waters. Several times they ascended narrow rock ledges that rose high above the river.

  Once, Tanner looked down and could not see the ledge beneath his horse. It appeared that his leg dangled in midair. He didn't look down again. Ahead were the mules, free of the tether line for safety's sake, and in front of them, Jubal Brown. Jubal rode frozen in a hunched position, his gazed fixed straight ahead. Peaches rode in front of Jubal, undoubtedly trying desperately not to cough, and in front as always, Fox led the way. From his position at the rear, Tanner could see only her hat, but her hat told him that she rode as always, straight in the saddle, one hand on the mustang's reins, the other on her hip. The woman was fearless, he thought. If she could face this heart-stuttering trail with her spine straight, he could do no less. Grinding his teeth, he straightened in the saddle, trusting the bay to find sure footing.

  After what seemed an endless day, they emerged from the canyons into a lush low area thick with wild currants and good grass. Tanner was hot, tired, thirsty, and still tense as wire.

  Jubal slid off his horse and leaned against its side, closing his eyes. "Jesus. I don't ever want to do that again."

  Fox unbuckled the cinch then swung her saddle off the mustang, removed the bridle and gave him a pat on the rear before she turned him out to enjoy the tall grass. "We'll hit the next set of canyons the day after tomorrow," she said cheerfully, grinning at Jubal's groan. Then her gaze settled on Peaches and her smile vanished.

  Peaches still sat on his horse, his chin on his chest and his eyes closed. A dribble of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.

  Fox and Tanner reached him at the same instant. "I'll get his boots out of the stirrups, you catch him," Fox said.

  Tanner carried Peaches to the shade near a thicket of currants and wild roses, surprised by how little the man weighed. Carefully, he placed him on the ground.

  "Thank you," Peaches croaked. "Feel like a damned idiot."

  The next coughing attack seemed to go on forever. At the finish, Peaches fell back against a boulder, exhausted. "Can I get you anything?" Tanner asked.

  "Here," Fox said, pushing past him. "Here's some cold water." Tearing her bandanna from her throat, she mopped Peaches's forehead, and the blood at his lips. After glancing at his shaking hands, she took the cup and held it to his mouth. "You're scaring me bad, old man," she said softly.

  Peaches looked at her so long and lovingly that Tanner stepped backward, feeling as if he intruded on their privacy.

  "Can we have biscuits tonight for supper?" Peaches asked.

  Fox smiled. "If you wanted fried alligator, I'd go find you one, kill it, and bring it back here."

  "Never liked alligator."

  Her fingertips brushed his cheek. "I'll bet you never tasted alligator in your life. But you'll get those biscuits."

  "I'm going to take a little nap 'fore supper," he said, patting her hand.

  "Good. I'll wake you when the biscuits are ready. I'll even butter them for you."

  "Right out to the edge," Peaches murmured with a smile.

  Standing, Fox blinked hard then walked into Tanner's arms and stood there trembling, her forehead pushed against his chest.

  There was nothing to say that wouldn't be a lie or that wouldn't devastate her. All he could do was hold her and try not to think about what might be happening to his own father.

  "I don't know what to do," she whispered. "We're days from any settlement, any real bed where he could rest. There's nothing in the medical kit that can help him." Swearing, she pounded her fists against Tanner's chest. "I hate this, I hate this, I hate this!"

  Jubal Brown came up beside them, favoring his left leg and limping. "I brought you some coffee." He gave them the cups, his eyes on Peaches. "He's not going to make it, Fox."

  "Shut up! Just shut up!"

  "He's got courage, that old man." Jubal pursed his lips. "He took those canyons without flinching. I thought sure as hell he'd cough himself right over the edge of the ledges." He gave Fox's arm an awkward pat. "I'll start supper."

  Fox stared at Peaches, the coffee forgotten in her hand. "What am I going to do?" she whispered. "He's always been there."

  Tanner wrapped his arms around her.

  * * *

  CHAPTER 19

  The next day was easy riding, thank God, with relatively flat terrain and only a few creeks to cross, nothing difficult. Still, Fox kept turning in her saddle to check on Peaches. He seemed marginally better today, which she prayed was a good sign. Puffs of white clouds drifted across the sun off and on so it wasn't as hot, and she called an extra rest stop in mid-afternoon, hoping that would help.

  She knew he'd had a fitful night, waking exhausted and drenched from the night sweats, his skin a dull yellowish tint, and it looked to Fox as if he was losing hair at an alarming rate.

  After supper, she sat next to him, drinking coffee and turning her face to the cool breeze coming off the river.

  "How
are you doing?"

  "Thirsty all the time, and cold at night. Otherwise, never felt better," Peaches said.

  "Well, you look like hell," Fox said, pretending she didn't notice his hands shaking as he raised his coffee to his lips. And pretending that his voice didn't sound hollow, and that his eyes weren't overly bright with a fever that none of the remedies she'd tried could bring down.

  "I expect I do," he said, smiling. Then his expression turned serious. "What are you going to do about Mr. Tanner, Missy? That man loves you."

  She pushed the heels of her boots into the loose shale and frowned. "He's never said so."

  "You figure high in the plans he's making."

  She listened to the gasping breaths he took between words and worried herself sick. "I can't," she said while he rested from coughing. "And you know why. I have something to do. Besides, I'd just shame him." Firelight flickered on Tanner's face where he and Jubal sat over the chessboard. Jubal Brown was the only man present she could look at without feeling her heart crack.

  "He knows what he'd be getting, Missy. Not your place to decide what would or would not shame a man."

  "I took a vow. I'm going to see it through," she said between her teeth.

  "So you're going to defy my deathbed wish and kill Jennings."

  "Now don't start that deathbed crap again. Peaches, sometimes you make me plain crazy."

  "You have to choose. You can throw your life away, or you can grab hold of it."

  Fox turned despairing eyes on him. "Look at me! I'm no beauty."

  "You are, too, beautiful." It was the first sentence he'd spoken whole, without panting every few words.

  "I'm only now getting into the habit of holding my fricking fork properly. And listen to me. I swear."