Wild Storm (The Unbridled Series Book 2)

by Sandra E Sinclair

  Cole glared at Colt. “You’re not the judge, so you don’t know what’s going to happen to him. Besides we can’t leave here until morning. We don’t know these mountains. It would be dangerous to leave after dark.”

  “There’s danger all right, but it ain’t in these mountains. I need some fresh air.” Colt pushed himself off the sideboard he’d been leaning against, and walked out.

  Chapter 17

  As Storm emerged through the trees, she saw Colt sitting on the foot of the veranda, carving into a block of wood, mumbling to himself. She’d seen him in that mood before, he was mad at Cole.

  Colt raised his head. “I thought you’d gone hunting,” he said, his gaze traveling to Storm’s empty hands, and back to her face.

  She grinned back. “And I thought I’d come back to find you and Cole both drooling over Emma. I guess we’re both wrong in our assumptions.”

  Colt laughed. “Well, you’re only part wrong. I’m sure if we go inside, we may see some drooling going on. Where have you been?”

  “I needed time to think, so I went for a walk.”

  He raised an eyebrow and lifted his head a little more. “What’s there to think about?”

  Kicking at the dirt, Storm replied, “Stuff.” Stuff that’s none of your business.

  “It can’t be anything to do with your sister’s safety, she seems fine, and from what I can tell, in good spirits too. I don’t reckon she was ever in any danger.” His eyebrow seemed to move a little higher as he tilted his head questioningly, although he didn’t actually phrase his comment as a question. He looked as if he was expecting an answer.

  Well, he could look all he liked, she wasn’t going to give him one. “Does that mean we’ll be heading home in the morning?”

  “I guess we’ll have to wait and see what Cole wants to do.”

  “If you folk are planning on staying here longer than a night, I’ll be leaving you here. Emma knows the way. She can lead you back.” Storm folded her arms.

  “And why’s that?”

  Why wouldn’t he just move so she could go inside the cabin. “Someone needs to go back and tell my pa, Emma is all right. He must be half out of his mind fretting by now. I don’t want him worrying more than he needs to.”

  “Fair enough. Do you believe your sister rode out here with the old man of her own accord?”

  “If that’s what she said happened then I believe her.” Don’t roll your eyes, don’t roll your eyes.

  “Do you want to know what I believe?”

  “Sure.” Dynamite, she wanted to add and chuckled inwardly.

  “I’ve been sitting out here thinking, and I think you’ve known all along she wasn’t at risk, and that’s why you kept delaying the inevitable. You knew she was here and said nothing.”

  And there it was. Boom! “I’m surprised your head didn’t explode with all that thinking you’ve been doing.” This time she couldn’t hold back and began to snicker.

  Colt’s face turned to granite. “I’ve a good mind to shake you until all your teeth fall out. The only reason I ain’t, is because you haven’t denied any of what I’ve said. I hate being lied to.”

  His expression wiped the smile off her face. “I’ve never once lied to you or Cole.”

  “Yes you have. Secrets are another form of lying, and I bet you’re just riddled with secrets.” He sneered.

  It was Storm’s turn to raise her brows. “Are you telling me you have no secrets?” At least he had the decency to look shamefaced.

  “Nothing on the scale of yours and your sister’s. Did you really think you could get away with it?”

  “With what? Please tell me what I’ve done to make you think I’m trying to get away with anything? I’m tired Colt, really tired, and I just want to go home.” Storm’s arms flopped to her sides.

  “I almost believe you. But I’ve been out here listening to your sister, and there is nothing innocent about what she’s planning.”

  Storm’s cheeks grew warm. “You have me at a disadvantage because I’m not privy to any of my sister’s plans.”

  Colt gave her a cruel smile. “Well then, let’s go inside and hear them. I’m sure she’s about ready to lay them on me too.”

  Storm’s head and shoulders slumped. She wished she’d stayed away that bit longer, hidden out in that cave she’d found. Colt threw his piece of wood along the porch, slipped his blade into the side of his boot and stood.

  Storm gazed at his hand, strong and lean. Heat to her cheeks rose a few more degrees as she remembered that hand firmly placed on her bosom hours earlier.

  After spending a night encased by the brothers, she’d been the first to awake, becoming conscious of the warm air brushing the strands of hairs on the back of her neck, and pressure from the arm Colt had casually placed around her. He must have shifted in his sleep. Cole had rolled away from her, but Colt had scooched in closer.

  Almost half of his body crushed her against the hardness of the ground beneath. At first she was rigid with fear, then a warmth enveloped her, and she reveled in the sensation. She almost pressed back against him. Then realization set in, and she shimmied her way out from under him without waking him.

  She only breathed again when she was clear of them. If Colt had woken up while his hand had been pressed against her, he would have been as embarrassed as her and a whole lot closer to knowing her truth.

  Storm shook her head, not wanting to entertain that particular memory or the strange feelings which came with it. She hadn’t enjoyed the sensation then, and she didn’t welcome it now. Thoughts like the ones she was having would only lead her into trouble. The freedom to express any womanly feelings was as forbidden as the fruit Eve used to tempt Adam.

  Irked by her thoughts, and what she could expect to find once she’d opened the door, she pushed past Colt, and stepped into the cabin. The three people inside sat drinking coffee. The aroma of whatever stew Emma had cooking on the top of the stove filled the air. Storm’s stomach grumbled in response.

  Emma’s eyes locked with Storm’s as she rose from her seat next to Cole and took Storm’s hand, then led her the few steps to the old man, sitting in the rocking chair. “Red, this is my brother Storm.” The glare Emma gave Red dared him to challenge her on what she’d said.

  Storm stood silently by, unable to breathe, move or speak—sure, Red would rat her out to the marshals. But all he did was grin at her and stuck his hand out. “Pleased to meet you. Your sister told me all about you.”

  Her knees almost buckled. She gripped Red’s hand as if it were a lifeline. It felt as though the ground was shifting beneath her, and she held on to Red-Ken’s hand a little longer than necessary. But what she noticed most of all, was the regret in his eyes, and the extra little squeeze he gave her fingers.

  She snatched her hand away, she didn’t want his pity—nor did she want him knowing her secret, or anything else about her for that matter. The knowing extra squeeze and glance, angered her. Didn’t he realize his actions turned her into a co-conspirator to his and Emma’s plan to rob their father?

  “You know I was there when you were born. I helped bring you into the world.”

  “You knew Storm’s mother?” Colt shot Storm an accusatory glare.

  “What are you looking at me like that for? It’s not like I can remember that far back. I don’t know him.” Storm retaliated with some glaring stares of her own. “He didn’t say he helped bring me into the world, and we stayed in touch.”

  Cole snickered. Colt’s neck snapped to attention as his head pivoted in the direction of the sound coming from his brother. He shot Cole the same dark look he’d given Storm, which sobered Cole, who ran his fingers through his hair as he looked away.

  “I’m glad you think this is funny, Cole, but let me remind you, our badges are on the line here. We need to come to a decision, and a doable one. This situation is messy only because you don’t know how to stick to the vows we made in Washington. We could hang Red out back. The wanted p
oster said dead or alive. I vote we kill him. It will solve all our problems.”

  “I’d rather you didn’t,” Red-Ken said, his eyes darting around the room. If he was looking for a means of escape; he was out of luck. Colt was firmly placed in front of the main entrance, and where Cole sat, Red would have to leap high and long to clear him. From the swelling, red flesh around his big toe, Storm calculated he wouldn’t get farther than a foot in front of where he sat. Judging from the look on Colt’s face, he’d sooner shoot Ken than look at him.

  Colt switched his gaze to Emma, who had returned to her seat. “Then there’s you. You scheming little—”

  Whatever Colt was about to call Emma was lost. Before he could even breathe life into the words he was about to say, his jaw was hit so hard he spun on his heels and now faced the door, before crumbling into a heap at Storm’s feet. She shook the pain out of her hand as she flexed her fingers to make sure none of them were broken.

  In an instant Cole was on his feet and kneeling in front of a dazed Colt. Assisted by his brother Colt eased himself into a sitting position, rubbing his jaw.

  Chapter 18

  The pain shooting through Colt’s jaw was like a bolt of lightning. Colt could have sworn he saw stars coupled with the chirping of a dozen hummingbirds. For a twig of a man, Storm threw a really good punch. He rubbed at his jaw as Cole’s face slowly came into focus. “What happened?” Although he knew the answer, he felt justified asking the question as he still couldn’t believe Storm had hit him.

  “Storm knocked you on your behind, and to tell you the truth—if he hadn’t, I would have. You were out of line.”

  “Well consider me put firmly in my place by half a man,” Colt said staggering to his feet. “Who in the world would have thought I could be knocked on my rear end so easily, by a half pint like you.” Colt’s cheeks grew warm.

  As much as he wanted to, Colt couldn’t get angry at Storm for hitting him good and proper. He’d have done the same if he had a sister, and some man had attempted to speak to her in the same way he’d been about to address Emma. The blow was sound; he’d remember his manners in future.

  Colt shook his head and laughed. He had a newfound respect for Storm, and he wouldn’t take the other man for granted again. Storm had proved he could act tough when he needed to.

  “Okay, little man, you have my attention. What do you suggest we do?”

  It seemed to Colt, Storm’s chest had expanded a few inches since hitting him as he thrust it forward. Maybe now would be the time to give Storm a warning. “I’m letting you get away with that punch on account I was deserving. But don’t go making a habit out of it. I’ve been known to hit back.” Good, Storm’s temporary inflated sense of self seemed to have righted itself. Colt saw the effect of his words on Storm as his puffed out chest deflated.

  Now Colt was ready to listen.

  “Okay, I’m listening. I want to hear one good reason why I shouldn’t string Red-Ken up onto the nearest tree. After all, this is the whole reason we’re here… Kill the bandit, rescue the girl. It’s that simple. I don’t see why y’all are making it more difficult than it is.”

  “Let’s just hear them out, Colt. It seems to me, there are things we don’t know. In order to get a better understanding of the situation, it’s time for us to listen.”

  “I said you have my ear. So go ahead.” Colt swept his hand in front of him. "Run it by me...”

  All eyes turned to Emma. Colt raised a brow. It seemed to him Emma had stolen the show and was now in command of her own abduction, if he could even call it that anymore. He felt like he was on the traveling odyssey from Hades, with three people he didn’t like, and a moronic brother. He and Cole were going to have words when all this was over.

  While Emma busied herself clearing her throat, getting it ready to spew more of her lies, Colt leaned back against the door and scanned the room. The cabin was pretty spacious; he hadn’t noticed it before. It contained everything needed for two people’s creature comforts.

  The four rooms were sectioned off by a low bearing divider with material hung over string, filling the gap. There was a bed made in the far corner and a trunk at the foot of it. Ahead was the kitchen, with a hand carved table and four chairs. Then there was the living area where he stood, furnished with a handmade rocker, the long bench where Emma and Cole were sitting, and a tired looking armchair, which had seen better days, left empty beside the rocking chair.

  The thing which had Colt scratching his head, was the dual fueled cast-iron stove Emma cooked her stew on. How would they even get something like that up here, in this no man’s land?

  The fireplace looked as if it had been made from rocks cut right out of the mountain the cabin stood upon—raggedy, jagged, and unpolished but not unpleasant to look at by its shabby design. This cabin had a woman’s touch.

  “Where’s the woman who lives here?”

  “If I were you, son, I’d concentrate less on knowing who the woman is, and more on that?” Red pointed to the window. “If that’s saying what I think it’s saying, you’ll know who she is soon enough, because she’ll be making her way back here.”

  Colt’s eyes followed Red’s gaze. Wafting into the sky and disappearing into the clouds were several large, foggy, fluffed out smoke rings. Colt looked to Storm. “Do you know what that means?” He jerked his chin toward the window.

  “I’ll tell you what it means…it means the tribes are calling their braves home. If you want to get down off this mountain, you’d best be leaving now, or you won’t be leaving here for a while. There’s a storm heading this way, and I don’t mean him.”

  Red looked at Storm and began to laugh. Colt’s lips twitched at the look on Storm’s face. It seemed to him Storm was so over that joke about his name. He’d have thought an old codger like Red would know better.

  Storm gazed at Colt. “He’s right, we have to go now.”

  “Then I guess I ain’t coming with you. I know I look sprightly, but I’m an old man who’s tired. I’d sooner have you string me up, than freeze to death, with you alongside me. Our bodies freshly preserved, if’n the lions don’t get us first.”

  Cole, whose gaze was fixed on Emma’s face as his fingers absently twirled a loose strand of her hair, let her hair go and stared at Colt.

  “We’re not going anywhere.”

  “And what do you suggest we do? Stay here—ride out the storm? For how long? I need to know what’s going on with our folks. You should be worrying about them too. Have you’ve forgotten there’s a war on, and they’re right in the middle of it?” Colt asked. He could feel his jaws contracting as he stared bemused at his brother.

  What he’d wanted to say, was for Cole to get a grip and refocus instead of sitting around all starry-eyed, hanging off Miss Emma’s every word as if his life depended on it. They had a job to do, and it seemed to him, he was the only one in this room who remembered.

  Cole rose from where he was sitting, his face pulled into a grim line. “Tread careful, little brother, I haven’t forgotten anything, and I know what’s ticking in that brain of yours. But you’re seeming to forget our parents have other sons, and at least six of them are better placed to do something to help them than we are. We asked them to leave, they didn’t. Move on, if I know anything about my brothers, ma and pa are fine. Cass would never let anything happen to them, he knows every inch of the south. So tell me, how can you help?”

  Colt kicked the toe of his boot against the hardwood floor. Feelings he’d never felt toward his brother, gurgled inside him. Who did Cole think he was? Giving him a dressing down in front of a room full of strangers. Maybe he’d asked for it, then again maybe he hadn’t. There was five minutes between them when they were born, which suddenly felt to him like fifty years.

  Colt didn’t know what was eating him. He just knew if Cole would side with him just once during all this chaos, he’d be in a better head space than the one he was in now. Colt was itching to shoot something, and the only person
he could see worthy of his backlash, was the old man grinning at him. Colt ground his teeth.

  Cole stepped past him, and opened the door.

  “Colt, would you come with me for a minute?”

  He wanted to tell his brother to go to blazes, but he didn’t. He straightened up and followed him out the door.

  “What was all that back there?” Colt turned on Cole the minute he stopped walking.

  “I just need you to shut up and listen.”

  “You couldn’t call me out here sooner, and before you decided to shut me down like that in front of everyone?”

  “I need to get your attention. Because you’ve gotten yourself all riled up. I know you missed the bit about the old man’s lady who will be heading back this way because of the storm.”

  “I heard it.” Colt rolled his eyes.

  “You heard it, but you weren’t really listening. He was letting us know he wasn’t alone up here, and the people he stays with, have means of keeping him safe up here. We have no idea who these people are, or how many of them, there are. More to the point, they know we’re here. Your hot head could get us killed. I love you, Colt, but ever since we started on this mission, you haven’t been yourself, and it’s worrying me.”

  Colt’s shoulders sagged. “It’s worrying me too. I don’t know what got into me.”

  “Well, fix it and do it quickly. We have a problem.”

  Cole slapped Colt on the back, rubbed the top of his shoulder then walked off toward the cabin’s entrance.

  Chapter 19

  As soon as the men went outside to talk, Storm looked to Emma. She needed to talk to her sister. There was no way she could stay here, along with Emma and three men. She’d be stuck in a confined space with them, and her curse would be here soon. It wasn’t like being out on the cattle range where she could wander off and do her own thing. There was a storm coming, and she’d be trapped, with little to no privacy.