Wild Storm (The Unbridled Series Book 2)

by Sandra E Sinclair

  It was okay for Emma. She’d be curtained off and not have to deal with any of the smelly, disgusting things men do that Storm knew were in store for her. Most likely they would all be bedding down in the living area. She and the three men, and she didn’t want that. She’d sooner take her chances in the storm and freeze.

  “Can we talk?” she asked Emma. They moved over to the curtain divider, Storm lowered her voice and leaned in.

  “This isn’t going to work. I want to go home.”

  “You’ve heard what Red said, there’s no going home. There’s a storm coming. Do you want to be trapped on this mountain when it does? Your clothes wouldn’t sustain you; you’ll freeze to death.” Emma rested a hand on Storm’s shoulder.

  “I’d rather freeze to death then share a room with three men. Do you have any idea how that will make me feel?”

  “I can hazard a guess, but what do you suggest? It’s not like I can have you sleep in here with me—is it?”

  They heard some throat clearing from the other side of the curtain. Pulling it back, Ken was standing there listening to them.

  “She can’t suggest it, but I can,” he said. “I know what you’re hiding, Storm. It’s as plain as the nose on your face that you’ve been living a lie for years. I’m not going to tell anyone,” Red-Ken said.

  Storm felt the color leave her face. Even though, she knew Red was aware of her situation—her secret—she wasn’t prepared for the impact that hearing the words leaving his lips had on her. Now she finally understood the look of dread, which had curtained her mother’s face the day she’d gone swimming with the other boys on the ranch.

  It was one thing to be inside your own head, playing out different scenarios of being outed, and not caring. But this was real. Someone else knew and the situation was getting more desperate. Storm began to chew on the inside of her bottom lip. Her heart raced. She reached out, grabbed Emma’s hand, and felt the reassuring squeeze, which relieved a little of the tension.

  “Yep, that’s right, boy, I know what you’re hiding. I also knew your mother well enough to know she wouldn’t have done this to you without good reason. So I’m saying nothing. If there is anything I can do to help, just ask.”

  Storm shook her head internally, scrunched her eyes as she stared at him in disbelief. This was not what she’d expected from the notorious bandit. The rumors about him didn’t seem to hold true anymore.

  If Red was prepared to do this for her, then she could do something for him. She’d speak with the marshals, get them to find out Red’s story. Nothing about this abduction, this man’s personality, and Emma’s behavior made sense. Soon they’d all be cooped up together in this cabin, for God only knew how long.

  Storm decided the best way would be to separate the brothers, work on each of them individually. By default, she’d have to take Colt. He was the more difficult of the two, but it couldn’t be helped. Emma had Cole’s attention. Storm would have to leave Cole to her. Her mind made up, Storm didn’t get an opportunity to share what she thought or respond to Red’s suggestion.

  Cole was back in the cabin, standing in the doorway, without Colt. Although Storm could see Colt through the gap between Cole and the door. Colt sat brooding on the veranda, where she’d found him earlier. He’d retrieved his piece of wood and was carving chunks out of it. It was clear he wasn’t trying to turn that lump of wood into anything but splinters.

  “You’re going to have to move your horses. You can’t leave them tethered in the cold. They won’t be able to use their natural surroundings to compensate for the weather change if they’re all tied up. There’s a trail where you can bring the horses up to the shelter on the flat. It has floorboards, the horses can do the rest. You’ll have to take off the saddles and just let them loose to defend themselves from what’s coming, the best way they know how. They’ll stay on the flat and we can go look for them when all this is over,” Red-Ken said to Cole, who nodded his agreement.

  Red told them about the path and where to find it. “You’d best let Storm go, he’d be able to handle it better. I’m figuring he’s more used to traveling this type of terrain. Dare say he’ll know what to do if the storm hits while he’s still out there,” Red advised.

  “I’ll go with him,” Cole said, and moved to let Storm pass.

  As they passed Colt sitting on the stoop he shouted after them, “Where are you two going?”

  “To get the horses,” Cole said.

  “I’m coming.” Colt stood, and walked over to them.

  “It don’t need all three of us to go.”

  “Then you stay. I’ll go with Storm. The way I’m feeling, I could do with the distraction.”

  Cole stared at his brother good and hard. “Okay, you go.”

  Storm and Colt made it down the mountain in silence, each one lost in their own thoughts. They got to the horses and untied them. “Now what?” Colt asked.

  “We find the cliff edge that winds uphill until we get them back to the flatland, up on the top of the mountain, by the cabin. Free them from the saddles and let them go.”

  “All right, lead the way.”

  It didn’t take long for them to find the cliff’s edge and the winding path Red told her about.

  “You go ahead of me,” Storm said, stepping aside. “The path winds all the way to the top. We should be good from here.”

  All seemed well as they made their way back to the top of the mountain. Storm was glad she was behind Colt and couldn’t see his face. That sour expression he’d taken to wearing a lot lately, affected her in ways she couldn’t find words to describe; other than it made her sad to see it. He was too handsome a man to be frowning all the time, and distorting those pretty looks God gave him. At least following at the rear, she could keep an eye on him and not have to keep checking on him by looking over her shoulder.

  From behind she could give flight to her womanly feelings, bask in the power of his height and shoulders. He was an impressive man and were she to be beheld as a woman, he’d be the kind of man she’d want. Children from such a specimen would grow to be big and strong. His torso was wide at the shoulder and tapered in at the waist, housing a firm behind atop long, strong legs. She sighed deeply—if only.

  Before she could fully grasp what had happened, the horse led by Colt reared up on his hind legs, kicking out with its front. One minute Colt was there, the next, only his hat remained wafting into the air. And he went over the cliff. Eyes bulging, Storm’s hand flew to her throat, the sound of her heart thrashing in her ears. She felt as if she’d been rooted to the spot for hours, other than the fraction of a second it actually took her to react. Reaching him before his hat floated to an unceremonious landing by Storm’s feet, she grabbed his hand as his legs kicked out beneath him.

  Her fast action allowed him to get a grip on the edge, just before the loud pop in her ears. With a final tug, she screamed out. Pain shot throughout her body, and rocked her. The sudden weight on top of her knocked the wind out of her sails, and colored her eyes in blackness as she slipped away into nothingness.

  Chapter 20

  The sound of Colt’s heavy breathing lay in the air. He could feel his own heart vibrating back against him, as it bounced off Storm’s chest. He looked down at the still body beneath him. Storm had saved his life. Colt had felt sure he was done for. Saliva stuck in his throat as he tried to swallow. His short life had flashed before him and he didn’t like what he saw, not one bit.

  Over the past few days, he’d been acting like a prize jackass. Mainly toward the man who now lay motionless beneath him. He hadn’t done anything during their time together that he could be proud of. Obviously Storm had been a better man than him, simply by the way he’d risked his own life to save him.

  Storm had held onto him like his life depended on it. Colt wondered if he’d have done the same, had their roles been reversed. Either way, Colt was eternally grateful. He pushed up off Storm’s limp body, checking the side of Storm’s head, which he’d
hit on impact. Then Colt gazed at the arm he’d heard being wrenched from its socket as Storm refused to let him fall. Now it was limp and damaged.

  Storm’s breathing was shallow. They needed help. Colt checked around for the horses. They were still close by, waiting. He would have to set Storm’s shoulder back in place. The popping sound he’d heard on the way up could only mean one thing. He’d recognize that sound anywhere. It was the same noise he’d heard as a youngster when he was thrown from his horse.

  At least with Storm being out of it, he’d be spared the pain Colt went through when his shoulder was popped back into place.

  Colt needed to check for discoloration of the hand and shoulder. Storm’s hand looked okay. He’d have to remove Storm’s clothes, and check for any change in color on the shoulder. If there was, it would indicate things were bad, and would get even worse. There wasn’t a doctor around for miles.

  Colt gave a silent prayer for it not to be anything more than a dislocated shoulder he could fix. Then it occurred to Colt, he’d heard another cracking sound when he’d landed on top of Storm, close to Storm’s chest area. He hoped he hadn’t broken a rib and pierced a lung. Storm’s chest had felt harder than normal, like bone. But there wasn’t any blood seeping through his clothing or mouth.

  Why was he kneeling there speculating? The only way to know what was going on for sure, was to have a look, then realign his shoulder. It was best to do it while Storm was still unconscious.

  Colt tilted his head to the side and hovered his ear over Storm’s nose and mouth. Storm’s breathing tickled the fine hairs on Colt’s face. Good, he couldn’t hear any wheezing, so no lung damage.

  He raised Storm up from the awkward, near sitting position he was in, leaned up against the rock. Colt laid Storm flat out along the ground, trying not to move him too much. He didn’t want to cause any more damage to the already deformed looking appendage.

  Slowly and tentatively, Colt untied Storm’s belt and eased him out of his jacket. Then unbuttoned his shirt and gazed wide eyed at the bandages wrapped around Storm’s torso.

  “Hey, tough guy. You tried to save me, even when you’re recovering from an old injury yourself,” Colt said aloud. He searched around for the fastening to Storm’s bandages and saw it was simply tucked under previous wrapping.

  Colt began to unwind the material. In his mind Colt felt it prudent to check that he hadn’t aggravated the old injury, before attempting to sort out Storm’s arm.

  The bandage covered a leather breastplate, which was cracked down the middle. Maybe Storm had fractured his ribs before. Colt had to get the breastplate off and see if there was any bruising or swelling. Removing the plate, Colt’s hand began to tremble, and the breastplate slid through his fingers. He sucked in a breath, as his eyes felt like they sprung out of his head. Colt jerked away and scooted at speed a few feet away from Storm. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, then looked again. He scratched his head, what in the hell was going on?

  Storm was...Storm was a woman?

  Colt jackknifed to his feet and shook his head. He thought so but, then he didn’t, and then he did—and he was, she was. What was going on? Had he completed the drop and fallen to his death? Was he in his own personal hell? He paced back and forth some more. Then moved in closer for another look; used a few curse words and picked up a stick to flick Storm’s jacket shut, covering her up.

  What in tarnation was he to do? He couldn’t leave her with her arm like that. He shook out his hand, wiggled his fingers, then laced them together, and cracked his knuckles. This was insane. What he needed to do was get a grip. It wasn’t like he’d never seen a naked woman before.

  Only she wasn’t supposed to be a woman, she was supposed to be a man. He could handle this better if she were still a man. How was he supposed to fix her arm without disrespecting her right to privacy? Dammit this was bad, really bad. He rocked his head from side to side and cracked his neck one more time. He’d just had to go on and do it.

  Hadn’t she put her life on the line for him? The least he could do was see past their differences and do it, so she didn’t wake up in excruciating pain.

  Picking up the breastplate as though, it was contaminated, he held it between two fingers. He flipped Storm’s jacket open and laid it across her chest to cover her up. Then he knelt beside her, averting his gaze from any other part of her body, but the top of her shoulder.

  He angled his own arm to block his view. After a detailed examination of her shoulder Colt was satisfied she hadn’t torn any ligaments. The skin was clear, soft, supple, and flawless. Colt shook his head. “Focus.”

  He wiped the perspiration from his eyes and bit on his bottom lip. His hands grew clammy, he rubbed them on his pants, then holding the detached limb he held it at a right angle away from her body.

  Colt felt around the top of her arm. Then taking Storm’s hand in his, gripping her elbow with the other hand, he began to pull slowly and evenly—until he heard the joint pop back into place.

  He gazed at her breastplate. He had to put her back the way he found her before she woke up; he could almost see the look of devastation on her face when she discovered he knew her secret.

  The thing which troubled him the most was, why the pretense?

  Deciding she must have her reason, which most definitely had nothing to do with him, Colt began to replace her bandages.

  Checking everything was as it had been, he took off his own shirt and tore off the sleeves to use as a sling. Colt put the sling in place, securing her arm. He sat her upright against the flat surface of a large rock and went to gather his hat and the horses. Colt stopped to pick up his hat, and dusting it off, he placed it on his head.

  Only to lift it off again and scratch his head some more as he walked the horses back toward where Storm sat stirring—soft whimpering sounds leaving her lips. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. As he listened to her moans, heat rose to his cheeks. He remembered, hadn’t he shared a hot spring with her?

  Everything about her behavior began to fall into place. Why she didn’t want him to go near her. The sadness in her eyes. She’d obviously been hiding who she was for years—but why? As far as he could make out, not even her father knew she was female. Colt took off his hat and beat it against his leg. He knew it! He’d felt it, right from the start. He’d always known something wasn’t right with her, and now what he’d just seen proved it.

  Was she the reason he hadn’t felt like himself? He’d been all bent out of shape from the start. Was he attracted to her? Had he been fighting that attraction when he thought she was a man? Even though, his gut had been telling him, she was a woman. God dammit, he had all these questions and no answers—other than— if he hadn’t been attracted to Storm before, he was now.

  Colt slapped his hand to his forehead and groaned as he remembered how uncouth he’d been around her. Exposing things about himself, things he would never have revealed or done in front of a lady. He’d let rip in front of Storm on many occasions, when he thought she was a man. Now he’d come to think of it, she hadn’t done any of the disgusting things he and Cole did in front of her. That should have been a red flag right off.

  The problem he had now was, did he tell her he knew she was a woman, or did he pretend to know nothing? The latter was going to be harder to pull off. He liked her, he liked her a lot.

  Chapter 21

  The light behind her eyes cast a dim burnt orange hue, which burned through her skull and pierced into her brain. The pain scorching through her head ached worse than the time she’d fallen off the barn roof as a child. Storm used everything she had in her, to peel her eyes open. She hurt everywhere, especially above her shoulder—which she couldn’t seem to move. The haze in front of her eyes was slow to clear. From the corner of her eye, a shadow moved, gaining her attention.

  She tilted her head to the side. The man sitting, grinning beside her face came into focus. Recognition was slow to follow. The thumping of her heart, and the race of her pulse wer
e much quicker in reacting to his handsome face. The smile to her lips came easy. She knew him, of that she was certain, was he her suitor?

  No, the voice inside her head shouted through the confusion of her muddled brain. You don’t have a suitor. You will never be matched to a member of the opposite gender. You’re supposed to be a man, and be careful to remember that fact. Especially around this man.

  “How are you feeling?” the grinning man asked. Colt, his name is Colt.

  “I’m not sure. Was I kicked by a horse?”

  “It was something like that, but it was the two-legged variety. I fell against you. You hit your head on the way down. Thank you by the way.”

  “For what?”

  “You saved my life.”

  “I did?”

  “Yes, and the pain you’re feeling is from the shoulder you dislocated to do it.”

  Storm stared at him. Why couldn’t she remember? Her hand rose to feel the side of her head where she felt the most pain. “So we’re not together?”

  He chuckled. “What do you mean, when you say together?”

  Storm, cease this line of questioning. It will all come back to you, give it time—be patient. Storm shook her head. “I don’t know what I mean. Maybe I need to rest some more.” She closed her eyes.

  “No, don’t go to sleep, we have to get back to the others.”

  “The others? What others?”

  “Storm, we need to go now, there’s a storm coming, and we need shelter.”

  She laughed. “That’s funny. I’m Storm, how can I be coming, when I’m already here?”

  He sucked in an exasperated breath, but he was still smiling at her. Oh he’s so handsome. Maybe she should ask him if he wanted to be her beau. Storm was sure she’d like that. The words were about to leave her lips, when he interrupted her.

  “Can you stand?”

  “I don’t know. I can try.” Joy rose through her; she didn’t know why but his smiling face made her happy. She felt consumed with the idea she didn’t have to lie anymore. Colt would be her man, and she would be his woman. No, that’s not right, I’m supposed to be a man too.