He stepped around Harley and yanked the cabin door open. The fresh air felt good on his face. His eyes roamed the yard, traveling to the barns and lingering on the cabin Anna shared with the two younger Hudson sisters. Patrick sat along the creek with a fishing pole in his hand.
Movement from Nathaniel’s cabin caught his eye. He groaned inwardly as the woman who seemed to be the bane of his existence the last couple of days emerged. Ethan took a small step back to conceal himself in the shadow of the cabin. She glanced his way, but didn’t appear to see him. She seemed undecided about something, then, instead of heading his way, she walked behind the cabin toward the trees.
Ethan’s eyes followed her until she disappeared into the woods. A satchel hung from her arms. He shrugged. Maybe she was going to collect some plants. He inhaled a deep breath, then headed back into the cabin and braced for another onslaught from his brother and Harley. Sure enough, he’d barely closed the door when the old man came at him.
“Ya could wed up with her, then there’d be no cause fer Anna ta leave.” Harley took a long drink from the coffee mug.
“Leave me be, old man. I’m saying it for the last time. I ain’t weddin’ up with anyone.” Ethan moved toward his bunk. The smell of coffee lingering in the air made his stomach twist into knots. There wasn’t any of Anna’s broth left that had soothed him earlier, so he reached for some of the mint Aimee Osborne had given him.
“You could pretend to be her brother if you take her to Oregon,” Nathaniel offered. “No one would question it. Cora thinks of Anna as a sister, which makes her family to me and you already.”
Ethan shook his head. He nearly laughed at the absurdity of Nathaniel’s suggestion. While the thought of Anna as his wife was ridiculous, thinking of her as a sister was even more unfathomable. He turned his back to his brother and frowned. No. Whatever thoughts might have ever crossed his mind about Anna Porter, none of them had come close to anything brotherly.
The door to the cabin creaked. Ethan lifted his head from his bunk, catching a glimpse of a skirt between the gap in the curtain and the ground. He sat upright and swung his legs over the mattress. He blinked away the dizziness when he stood. Had Anna returned? His stomach growled. He could sure use some more of the broth she’d made the day before. It was all the nourishment he’d been able to keep down.
“Is anyone in here?”
Ethan frowned. It wasn’t Anna. The voice belonged to Caroline. He slipped an old cotton shirt over his head that he’d dug out of his trunk earlier. It didn’t have any buttons, only strings at the wide opening at the neck. He stepped into his boots, then pushed the curtain aside The dull throb in his hand worsened. The girl stared at him when he stepped into the main room.
“I’m looking for Anna,” Caroline said, her eyes on his bandaged hand.
“She ain’t here.” Ethan glanced around the room to prove his point.
“She told Cora earlier that she was going to help me fix supper. I haven’t been able to find her, and no one else has seen her since she left Cora’s cabin several hours ago.”
Ethan wrinkled his forehead. He’d seen Anna walk into the woods earlier. Had that been several hours ago?
“Where’s Trevor or Travis?”
“I don’t know. They rode off earlier this morning and haven’t been back. I was about to find Nathaniel and ask him if he would look for Anna, but Patrick told me he and Harley went off to check on their traps. They took Josie with them. They said they weren’t going to be gone long, but I’m getting worried.”
Ethan’s eyes fell on his rifle propped by the door. “I think I know where she might have gone off to. I saw her earlier.” He frowned at his own words. If she’d been gone for hours, she might have gotten lost. “I’ll find her,” he added.
“You will?” Caroline’s surprised wide-eyed look was almost laughable. “I mean, are you sure? Your hand won’t give you trouble?”
“I don’t need my hand to walk.” Ethan moved to the door. He grabbed for a water skin and powder horn that hung on the wall and draped them around his neck and shoulder before reaching for his rifle.
“Tell Harley and Nathaniel I’ve gone looking for Anna, due north of here. I’ll bring her back.”
Ethan left the cabin without a backward glance at Caroline. He shook his head to dispel the lingering dizziness. It was time he got back on his feet. No more dawdling around the cabin, getting weaker by the hour. It had been nearly forty-eight hours since he’d drunk that vile tea that made him sicker than a dog. A good walk in the woods would perk him up quicker than lying around in bed all day.
Picking up Anna’s footprints in the soft soil was no problem. It appeared as if she’d gone for a leisurely stroll, stopping every once in a while to, presumably, look at her surroundings. She didn’t seem to have a clear destination. Her tracks led through the forest, following the easiest and most accessible path possible, around downed logs and dense shrubs. What had prompted her to head into the woods alone?
He must have covered a good mile when her footfalls became less noticeable where the ground turned rocky. Ethan focused on spotting broken twigs or scrapes on rocks made by her shoes. He reached a small clearing when it became evident that she’d realized that she was lost. She’d turned in a circle, then backtracked a short distance, then gone in a completely different direction.
Ethan shook his head. Fool woman. Why would she go somewhere unfamiliar, especially if she hadn’t told anyone which direction she was heading? The sooner she left the valley, the better. He scoffed. Nathaniel’s conversation came back to him as he continued to follow Anna Porter’s tracks. If she continued on her present course, she would come to a dead end, unless she planned to climb some steep rocks.
He glanced up at the darkening sky. It wasn’t so late in the day that he’d run out of daylight if he didn’t find Anna soon, but the grey clouds moving in from the west meant he might get wet.
“Wouldn’t be the first time Miss Porter is the cause for me getting soaked,” he grumbled out loud.
A slight breeze tickled the back of his neck, lifting strands of his hair that grew nearly to his shoulder. A shiver passed through him. What if she was hurt? Not only did she have to navigate dead trees and dense undergrowth in this area, but the terrain was getting steeper, and sharp rocks or hidden boulders could cause anyone to slip and fall.
“Blast it woman, where are you going?” he called into the breeze. His answer was the faint trickle of water as it splashed across rocks.
She had to realize she wasn’t anywhere close to where she’d started her walk. Either she was deliberately going in this direction, or she was hopelessly lost and disoriented. No doubt it was the latter. At least he hadn’t seen any indication by the tracks she’d left that she might be injured.
Ethan stumbled over a large rock that had been concealed by dense undergrowth. His rifle saved him at the last second from falling, using it as a crutch to keep him on his feet. His left hand was completely useless at the moment. He cursed under his breath. He was still weak. His hand throbbed painfully and his stomach rumbled from lack of food. He lengthened his strides with the thought of Anna lost and probably scared. Just one fall and she could break her leg, or worse.
The spring cut through the rocks further ahead, tumbling over boulders on its way down the slope and into the valley several miles away, where it would meet up with the creek that flowed through Harley’s Hole.
“If she’s got any sense at all, she’ll follow the stream,” he mumbled. A smile cracked his face when her footprints indicated she was doing exactly that. Maybe she wasn’t as helpless as he’d thought after all. Perhaps she’d realized that if she followed the water, it would take her back to the valley.
His path along the creek was quickly blocked by the thick growth of berry bushes that grew along the water’s edge. The terrain here sloped downhill and became rather steep in spots, the uneven ground concealed by shrubs and undergrowth. Crossing the creek would make for easi
er footing on the other side.
Ethan studied Anna’s tracks. They stopped at the water’s edge. He scanned the rocks closer to the creek. There was a mark on some of the slime in the water that indicated that she might have attempted to cross here.
“You should have gone further upstream where it’s safer and not as steep and slippery,” Ethan said under his breath.
He stepped into the water, choosing his way over the slick rocks and staying clear of the thorny bushes that grew over the edge of the creek. Many of the branches dangled in the water. The stream wasn’t deep, reaching midway up his calves, but the bottom was slippery with scum and uneven rocks.
Ethan gripped his rifle in his right hand as he set one foot in front of the other. His sole made contact with a sharp rock that moved as he stepped on it. He swayed slightly to keep his balance while at the same time, the sound of breaking twigs alerted him to something behind him.
“Mr. Wilder?” a woman’s voice called.
Ethan’s head turned. His foot shifted and twisted at the ankle when the slippery rock moved under his weight. Water splashed his face as he went down, the creek’s current carrying him several yards downstream. His arm snagged in some overhanging branches, the sharp, long thorns tearing his shirt and scraping his skin. Ethan cursed, while Anna Porter frantically called his name. Thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance.
“Mr. Wilder, are you all right?” Anna called again. She stood as close to the water’s edge as possible without getting snagged by the thick brambles, reaching her hand out to him.
“Stay back, woman, or you’ll hurt yourself.” Ethan glared at her while he yanked his shirt free of the barbs. One of the needle-sharp thorns sliced the skin of his upper arm. He hissed. More sharp pain seared his injured hand as the water penetrated through the bandage.
Carefully, he scrambled to his feet among the slick rocks. He held back a curse when pain shot up his leg when he put full weight on his right foot. Anna leaned forward, reaching for him.
“Are you all right?” Wide eyes stared up at him, moving from his face to his right arm. “You’re bleeding.”
Ethan glanced at his arm and torn shirt. Traces of red discolored the tan cotton. The puncture made by the sharp thorn throbbed, as did the injury to his hand, but what stung worse was that he’d had the mishap in the first place, and in front of Anna Porter, no less.
He eased the weight off his right leg, using the rifle to balance. He’d never been this accident-prone in his life. Had he been with his brothers, they’d have been mocking him mercilessly. There was only genuine concern in Anna’s eyes.
“What are you doing here, Mr. Wilder?” she stammered.
Thunder rumbled again, this time much closer. Anna shrank back, staring up at the sky.
He glared at her. “I’ve been asking myself the same question. You’re going to be the death of me, woman,” Ethan grumbled as the first drops of rain began to fall.
Chapter Nine
Anna stared up at Ethan. Water soaked his shirt and britches, and the glare in his eyes was reminiscent of a couple of days ago when he’d stood before her in a similar fashion. At least this time, there was no mud on his face, and she wasn’t the one responsible for him getting wet.
Or maybe it was her fault again? He’d slipped right after she’d called out his name in surprise. Although relief had swept through her at seeing someone familiar, the last person she’d expected to see in the woods while she’d tried to navigate her way back to the cabins had been Ethan Wilder.
“What are you doing here, Mr. Wilder? Shouldn’t you be resting?”
Ethan’s muscles along his jaw tightened and he clamped his lips shut. Clearly, he had something he wanted to say but kept it to himself. His chest heaved, then he spoke.
“Caroline was worried about you since you were gone for several hours without telling anyone where you went, so I came looking to make sure you weren’t lost.” His words sounded like a predatory growl.
Anna swallowed. Truth be told, she had been lost. Walking off into the woods on her own had been a foolish thing to do, but she wasn’t about to concede that fact to this man.
She’d made her way through the forest, hoping to see something recognizable when she’d come upon the creek. She’d been sure that if she followed it, she’d get back to the valley. The problem was, she’d needed to find a way around the dense brambles. She’d tried to ford the creek, but the slippery rocks had made her reconsider that option. Ethan’s fall had clearly proven she’d made the right choice.
“And you believe me incapable of finding my way back?” she challenged.
He smirked. “You’re about three miles from the cabins. Don’t tell me you weren’t lost.”
Anna straightened. “At least I managed to remain on my feet. I may have been lost, but I believe this creek would have led me back to the valley.”
His silent glare was her answer that she’d been correct. He moved around her, hissing under his breath when he stepped on his right foot. The drizzle falling from the sky grew steadily stronger. Anna swiped at the moisture on her face.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Wilder,” she said, following him as he hobbled away from the creek. “That remark was uncalled for. I appreciate that you’ve come looking for me.”
He stopped, tossing a quick glance at her over his shoulder. “We’d best hurry back or you’re going to be as soaked as I am.”
He lurched forward, limping in the opposite direction from what she’d presumed was the way to get home. Anna caught up to him, glancing at the tear in his shirt near his shoulder. The fabric was stained red and blood still oozed from a wound no doubt made by one of those bushes with the sharp thorns that lined the creek.
“I don’t think you’re in any condition to travel fast,” she said. “I can handle a little rain.”
He continued forward, his knuckles white as he gripped his rifle in his right hand, staring straight ahead. Navigating up the rocky incline, he led her back the way she’d come earlier. Clearly, he seemed to know exactly where he was going. With each step he took, his limp became more pronounced. His damp shirt clung to his shoulders, making the rigid muscles of his back and shoulders visible. Ethan was clearly in a lot of pain, but too stubborn to admit it.
Once the ground leveled out, he stopped and pulled his water skin from around his neck and fumbled to uncork the opening. He took a long drink, then held it out to her. She started to shake her head to decline, then thought better of it.
Anna stepped closer, taking the pouch from him. Instead of drinking, she corked it to save him from trying to do it himself with only one usable hand.
Stubborn man.
She studied his face as he stared down at her. It was difficult to tell if all the moisture on his forehead was from the rain, or if he was sweating. Concealed pain glistened in his eyes.
Thunder rumbled through the mountains, and the rain came down in thicker drops.
“Can we find some shelter?” Anna asked, lifting her shawl over her head. She’d endure the walk back to the cabin in the rain if she had to, but pretending to want shelter might be a good way to get Ethan to slow down. His pale face was worrisome, but he would never admit to needing her help.
“A little further, the rocks can offer some shelter. There are some boulders that hang over a small outcropping.”
Anna smiled eagerly, letting him lead the way again. By the time they reached the place he’d mentioned, her shawl was soaked. After ducking under the natural roof, a shiver passed through her and she rubbed her hands up and down her arms.
“Perhaps the rain won’t last long,” she suggested.
Ethan looked at her, still standing in the rain. He glanced at her, then at the ground at her feet. There was plenty of room for two people to comfortably take shelter, and it was dry.
“I’ll get a fire started. You look cold.” He set his rifle on the ground, then moved to collect wood that hadn’t gotten wet. Anna gathered leaves and pine needles for t
inder, making a small pile at her feet. Wordlessly, Ethan sat on the ground and pulled a piece of flint from one of the pouches around his neck. Barely able to hold it with his bandaged hand, he struck the flint with his hunting knife, creating a spark.
Anna added wood as a flame erupted on the leaves. She settled on the ground near the fire, hugging her arms around her waist. Ethan stared into the flames, his face as hard as ever. His jaw tightened when he adjusted his leg. No doubt he regretted that he’d come looking for her.
Would she ever do anything right in this man’s eyes? Not that it mattered. She’d be gone from Harley’s Hole soon, and then Ethan Wilder would become a distant memory. Her walk had given her plenty of time to think about how she was going to get to Fort Hall. If Nathaniel could get her at least that far, she’d do whatever was necessary to continue on with a group of settlers heading west, even if that meant marrying someone in need of a wife. If Cora’s husband wouldn’t take her, perhaps Harley or even the twins could be persuaded to go.
Ethan added more wood to the crackling fire. Anna’s eyes fell to his arm and the wound that continued to bleed slightly.
“I have some salve in my satchel that I was supposed to give to Trevor for your hand,” she said tentatively. “Aimee Osborne left it behind. I could put some on that cut. It looks painful.”
Her eyes met Ethan’s when he looked at her. His expression was unreadable, although the hard planes of his face had softened compared to the way he’d glared at her earlier by the creek. Surely, his male pride was wounded for having fallen into the water in front of her. Her remark about it hadn’t been helpful to lighten his mood, but darn it, the man had deserved it.
Ethan glanced at his arm, lifting and flexing it. No doubt the deep stab from a thorn had torn into his muscle and hurt more than he was letting on.
“I might as well take a look while we wait for the rain to stop,” Anna coaxed.
Waiting for you to get over your stubbornness might take forever.
Anna's Heart (Wilderness Brides Book 2) Page 8