by Pat Tracy
“Oh-oh…. Logan, don’t look now, but Colonel Windham and his wife just walked into the dining room.”
As nothing else other than a shout of “Fire!” could have done, Martin Pritchert’s observation freed Victoria’s thoughts from their improper course. She glanced in the direction the others were looking.
A slight man dressed in a bright blue uniform conspicuously decorated with gold braiding, along with a demurely dressed but unarguably beautiful woman wearing a lavender gown, entered the room. The attractive blonde stood a couple of inches taller than her husband.
Victoria tensed as she stared at the vile beast responsible for almost killing Logan. It required all the inner discipline she possessed to subdue the urge to charge across the room to berate him for his wretched treatment of the man she loved.
“Of all the nerve,” Madison snarled. “How dare he show his ferret face in public after what he did to you!” The girl leaped to her feet. “Even if you did sleep with his wife, he had no call to—”
“Sit down, Madison,” Logan stated, with sufficient force to ensure the girl plopped back to her chair. “For the record—” Logan’s ruthlessly intense gaze washed over Victoria “—nothing of a personal nature has transpired between Athena Windham and myself.”
In the silence that followed Logan’s announcement, the hard-faced military man and his wife crossed the room. When the couple were within a foot of the table, both Martin Pritchert and Logan stood.
The ensuing tension was volatile enough to catch fire without the benefit of a spark.
“Well, I see your luck held out, Youngblood, and you made it back to town alive.”
From the short, mustached man’s clipped observation, one wouldn’t have guessed the officer had left Logan behind at the fort to face certain death.
“No thanks to you,” Logan observed mockingly.
A look of hatred radiated from the colonel’s eyes. “What do you mean? I left orders that you were to be released from the stockade and provided with a mount for your return to Trinity Falls.” A nasty smile twisted one corner of his mouth. “Naturally, during the last-minute confusion of evacuating the fort, I was unable to personally bid you a safe trip.”
His obvious skepticism about Windham’s words was reflected in Logan’s chilling gaze, yet he said nothing.
“You realize, Youngblood, our business isn’t finished,” the officer went on to say. “I’m dispatching several of my men to escort you to the temporary office I’ve set up at the Methodist church so we’ll be able to finish the discussion we began at the fort.”
Victoria’s gaze went to the woman, who hadn’t once spoken or looked up from the lace handkerchief she twisted between white-knuckled fingers. Surely the colonel wouldn’t voice in so public a setting his ugly suspicions about his wife and Logan.
“I consider that subject closed,” Logan stated with numbing coldness.
Victoria didn’t understand how Windham could bait Logan, when it was obvious he wanted nothing more than to tear the officer apart limb from limb.
“The murdering savages who burned down the fort are still at large. You will lead my men to their stronghold so that we can exterminate them.”
Victoria looked around the large dining room, suddenly aware that Windham and Logan’s confrontation had attracted a large audience. It occurred to her that most of those present would undoubtedly agree with the colonel that all Indians should either be killed or be driven from the territory.
“I’m always happy to oblige the military,” Logan said, with a lethal mildness that made Victoria’s mouth go dry.
She was terrified that if Logan was to ride into the mountains with Windham, the colonel would make certain he wouldn’t return alive. Yet, even though every line of his rugged body had tautened with barely checked fury, Victoria discerned that Logan was not the least bit afraid of the military man. Did Logan truly intend on betraying his friend Night Wolf, or was the offer an attempt to postpone the hour of reckoning?
She marveled at Logan’s control and realized that he’d spoken the truth in the mountains. He did not suffer from ordinary human fears. She didn’t consider his courage a positive attribute, however. Surely he would be in less danger if he respected the colonel’s hatred.
“My men will arrive shortly to make sure you reach my office without any unforeseen complications,” Windham informed Logan with barely veiled contempt. “Come along, Athena. We’ve delayed our meal long enough.”
As one, the couple continued on their way. Victoria noted that before being led away by her husband, Mrs. Windham allowed herself one hurried glance at Logan. In that single brief look, Victoria thought she detected a flash of poignant longing in the woman’s overly bright eyes.
“Well, my goodness, that was quite a scene.” Constance Pritchert fanned herself with a napkin as she stared at Logan. “That man has taken a strong aversion to you.”
“You ought to rip off his privates and use ‘em for target practice,” Madison suggested spiritedly, her blue eyes shooting sparks.
“Madison!” both Martin and Constance Pritchert chided in unison.
Though she did not say so, Victoria viewed the girl’s proposal as sound.
Logan laughed harshly as he returned to his chair. “I suspect his wife already does that on a regular basis.”
No one bothered to chastise Logan for the crude remark.
“What are you going to do?” A marked concern etched Martin’s normally benign features as he, too, sat down. “It’s obvious Windham hates you and would rather see you dead than have you come back alive from the mountains.”
“I don’t have a choice. Even though I’m a civilian, Windham has the authority to order me to lead him to Night Wolf.”
From Logan’s casual statement, one would never have surmised his life hung in the balance.
“But you can’t do that!” Madison protested. “Night Wolf saved my life after Pa was killed by those claim jumpers. Why, my bones would have been picked clean by the buzzards if he hadn’t shown up when he did.”
“Don’t worry about Night Wolf, Maddy.” Logan smiled reassuringly at the distraught girl. “The last time I talked to him, he told me he was moving the tribe northward.”
“If you lead Windham to an abandoned Shoshone village, he’ll probably shoot you on the spot,” Martin pointed out grimly.
“But you just spoke with Night Wolf yesterday,” Victoria felt compelled to say. “How much distance can an old man travel in that short period of time, especially if he’s trying to move an entire tribe?”
Four pairs of surprised eyes regarded Victoria. She couldn’t imagine what she’d said to provoke such a reaction from them.
“Where’d you get the idea that Night Wolf was an old man?” Madison asked in a loud voice as she absently blew a couple of drooping ringlets from her eyes. “Why, I expect he’s younger than Logan, and you can’t rightly call Logan old.”
Victoria looked at Logan in confusion. “But you said he was a very elderly, frail man.”
A dark flush stained Logan’s high cheekbones. “I was probably referring to Night. Wind at the time.”
“Who the blazes is Night Wind?” Madison asked. “I never heard tell of him before, and I thought I’d met everyone in Night Wolf’s tribe.”
“He’s an old, toothless Indian chief,” Victoria filled in helpfully, wondering how on earth Logan could say he’d been describing someone other than Night Wolf.
“Well, that’s neither here nor there,” Martin interjected. “If you ride out of town with Windham, I don’t think you’ll be returning, especially if you fail to deliver Night Wolf.”
As the statement’s validity registered on them, an oppressive silence hung over the table. The abrupt arrival of four somber-faced men dressed in bright blue military gear only heightened the escalating tension.
“Mr. Logan Youngblood?” one of them inquired respectfully.
Logan rose. “Yes?”
“You’re
to come with us.”
“Don’t go with them, Logan.” Victoria and Madison both voiced the same plea as they pushed back their chairs and jumped to their feet.
Logan looked from one to the other with unexpected tenderness. “Ladies, I appreciate your concern, but I have no choice other than to accept these gentlemen’s invitation to join their commanding officer.”
“But Windham’s sitting right over there with his wife, feeding his weasely face,” Madison blurted out.
Logan rolled his eyes. The soldiers, however, looked anything but amused at Madison’s insulting reference to their commanding officer.
“Maddy, behave yourself.”
The young woman’s chin rose mutinously as she jammed her fist into the folds of her prolifically ruffled gown. “I got me a gun here, and I’m fixin’ to shoot daylight into the first one of you mangy varmints who makes a move toward Logan.”
“Oh, my God!” Constance Pritchert cried.
Victoria was marginally calmer than the older woman, because Madison had stuck her hand into the same pocket where she’d tucked the wad of bills she’d won gambling with Herbie. Still, neither the soldiers nor Logan knew that the unseen bulge outlined beneath the pink fabric of her frilled dress was not a pistol.
“Maddy, stop your theatrics and sit down,” Logan commanded succinctly.
Victoria held her breath. She honestly didn’t know what the unpredictable rebel would do. Inwardly, though, she applauded the girl’s courage.
At last Madison yielded to Logan’s rigid glare and returned in a dejected slump to her chair.
Victoria, however, remained standing.
Logan flicked a significant glance from her to the empty chair beside her. “You may also be seated, Victoria.”
“I…” She licked her suddenly dry lips. “I should like to
go with you and these nice soldiers to the Colonel’s office.”
“And why is that?” Logan inquired softly. “Do you have a gun with which you’d like to ventilate the ‘nice’ soldiers?”
Victoria flushed. Leave it to Logan to resort to his particular brand of dark humor at a time like this. “Of course not. I have some important information to provide Colonel Windham.”
“It’s probably best if you remain here, ma’am,” one of the men said, not unkindly. “If the colonel needs to speak with you, he’ll send for you.”
Aware that she’d drawn the attention of all present in the dining room, Victoria forced herself to appear utterly unmoved by the anxiety she suffered.
“I have no wish to argue with you, sir,” she said smoothly. “It’s just that I know the Indian you’re seeking—I believe he’s called Night Wolf—has left the Idaho Territory. When Mr. Youngblood accompanied me to Trinity Falls from the fort, we encountered the.savage. He had his entire tribe with him and they were headed. west. As this encounter happened more than a week ago, there’s no way Mr. Youngblood will be able to guide you to him. The plain and simple truth is that Night Wolf could be anywhere.”
Of course, there was nothing plain or simple—or truthful—about what she’d just said. Victoria waited for either a bolt of lightning or a bullet to strike her down for voicing such an outrageous falsehood. She knew that everyone at their table was aware of her lie. After all, until a few minutes ago she hadn’t even known that the Shoshone wasn’t an old man. And, she’d publicly announced her association to Logan to all present.
Despite her inner turmoil, she was conscious of Madison’s admiring gaze. Oddly, earning the plucky girl’s approval eased some of Victoria’s tension. As long as she didn’t let her glance stray to Logan’s glowering countenance, she thought she would be able to pull off her incredible bluff.
“Maybe you should come with us, ma’am.”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Logan’s gritty question slammed into Victoria’s diminishing confidence with the force of a powerful fist. From the
Prairie Rose, the soldiers had taken them to, of all unlikely
places, a Methodist church to wait for Colonel Windham to arrive.
“It should be obvious,” she replied in a shaking, lowpitched voice, having no wish to draw the attention of the uniformed men who left her and Logan to their own devices in the back of the high-beamed chapel. “I’m saving your life. Again.”
Logan’s black eyebrows formed an angry vee. His tightly reined features radiated bleak fury. “Honey, you don’t know what you’re getting into. Windham isn’t exactly rational where I’m concerned. The best thing you can do is to stay out of his way. I’ll handle things on my own.”
“The last time you ‘handled’ things, you ended up in a stockade,” she reminded him.
“Victoria, the matter isn’t up for debate. I’m telling you I don’t want you involved. There’s no telling what Windham might do. I’ve got the feeling he’s close to the edge. If he’s pushed too far, I don’t think he’d balk at hanging a woman.”
Logan’s words struck Victoria with the force she knew he’d intended. Her knees might be trembling, but nothing he could say would make her leave him. She’d let him walk out of her life once, believing they could never have a future together. She’d been terribly wrong, and not because she’d discovered Logan wasn’t on the run. She’d been wrong because she’d let something come between her and the man who’d stolen her heart. She refused to make that mistake again.
And even if Logan didn’t love her, even if his stated intent to marry her was based on nothing more than arrogant desire, she would not forsake him. His pride might not want to let him admit it, but she was his best chance of staying alive. She thought briefly about the heroines who peopled her treasured books and realized they shared one common trait. Courage.
She was about to demonstrate to Logan and herself that she possessed that same noble quality. If she didn’t pass out first, she thought, trying to manage a deep breath despite the constraints of her corset.
“I assume Windham’s seemingly unreasonable animosity has been kindled because of your, er. association with his wife,” Victoria returned primly. “Through the ages it’s been well documented that a husband tends to be possessive of his wife’s faithfulness. Good grief, until quite recently duels have been fought over such incidents.”
“I never slept with the woman,” Logan said with evenpaced savagery.
Victoria knew her face was crimson. “You’re certain of that?”
“Lord, just when I thought you’d condemned me for every conceivable flaw a man could possess, you’ve come up with a new crime to lay at my door.”
“Well, she’s quite beautiful, and she does seem to…uh…be greatly attracted to you.”
Logan flushed. “What makes you say that?”
“She gazed at you most longingly.”
“That’s it? A woman looks at me and I stand condemned of seducing her?” Outrage coated the question.
She was tempted to tell him that if his reputation with women in general wasn’t in such shambles, the bizarre situation would never have arisen, but she refrained from assaulting that weak point. She wasn’t about to berate Logan for his past when his future hung in such desperate uncertainty.
“Not by me, Logan,” she whispered sincerely. “I believe you when you say that nothing amiss occurred between you and Athena Windham. But, clearly, the woman’s husband has grave doubts about the matter, and those doubts are clouding what is probably a usually clear-thinking military mind. Still, I’m convinced I can appeal to his practical side.”
“Victoria, I swear to God, if you don’t leave now, while you have the chance, I’m going to turn your over my knee and administer some sweet justice to your backside.”
“I don’t think those soldiers will let you,” she pointed out with strained patience. Apparently it was asking too much for Logan to believe in her. “You know, it’s extremely annoying of you to keep threatening to punish me as if I were an unruly child. You ought to be thanking me, instead.”
“Victoria—”
“It wouldn’t hurt you to have some confidence in me,” she said, cutting him off before he could issue any more threats. “If you didn’t suffer from an overabundance of manly arrogance, you would be able to admit I’m in the perfect position to extricate you from the snare in which Colonel Windham has trapped you.”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, but—”
“Of course you don’t,” she said, interrupting him again. “Because you’re a man who thinks women are useful for only one thing.”
A sudden gleam flickered in Logan’s dark eyes. There was no doubt in her mind as to what he thought that one thing was.
“Don’t stop now,” he said huskily. “You’ve got my full attention.”
“Pray pull your thoughts from…er…ah…”
“Yes?” he prompted softly.
“Logan, a man standing on the brink of disaster should have his mind set on lofty matters,” she intoned repressively. “You issued an ultimatum that I was to marry you, and—”
A tinge of uncertainty entered Logan’s usually confident gaze. “I admit my proposal was a bit rushed, and not overly romantic, but I’d hardly call it an ultimatum.”
“Women have probably been dispatched to prison with more sentiment than you demonstrated in your office,” she observed with asperity.
“Honey, you weren’t exactly in the mood to listen to any sentimental blatherings about love.”
Victoria’s heart took the hit dead center. Was that how Logan thought about love? Sentimental blatherings? Of course, she reflected dejectedly, men who abandoned brides at the altar probably were not, in general, a romantic lot.
“Be that as it may, I…I’ve decided that I owe you a great deal for getting me safely to Trinity Falls. Marrying you, however, as a repayment of your services, seems unreasonably excessive. Helping you escape Colonel Windham’s malevolent grasp will be a much more fair exchange.”