by T. S. Joyce
Burning rage scorched through my body. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind Kicking Bull and his warriors had killed many a soldier, but who wouldn’t? They were defending their land, their families…their way of life.
Kicking Bull looked to be injured and his wife, Tauri, fretted over the pooled blood on his leather leggings. One of his sons and grandsons had died in the clearing, but the other sat near him.
“Mahtuhgurch Sahdteech,” a woman said in the barest whisper.
Oupita sat by the edge of the fire with her son and man beside her. The faraway look disappeared from her dark eyes and she lifted her head. I had my head low as I loped on the very edge of the firelight’s reach.
In Ute, she whispered too low for the soldiers to hear, “Bury my people.”
I ducked my head lower and she nodded. I had no way to tell her my brothers were already honoring her request as I stood there. Her man never took his eyes from me as he pulled the gray eyed boy into his lap. His fierce expression said he knew who I was. I was glad for a man such as him to watch over them. He’d managed to get his family out safely.
From the direction they were traveling, the soldiers were marching them toward the reservation. I slunk into the shadows of the forest. I’d follow them until they arrived safely for my own peace of mind, but they’d live.
Chapter Twenty
Lucianna
Sleep didn’t come easily for any of us. We’d decided to stay at the big house where we could each have our own space to fret and worry. Kristina and Lorelei told me of how they’d waited for their husbands like this before. I didn’t know how to control the blood-chilling fear inside of me, or how to look calm and collected like the other woman. In our short time together, Gable had become so imperative to my continued existence and now he was out in the night somewhere doing goodness-knows-what.
Kicking Bull, Jeremiah had said. I’d asked enough questions to gather he was Oupita’s father. Whatever the men smelled on the wind earlier spooked them badly. No human eyes shone from their faces as they raced out of our clearing in the shadow of those storm clouds. What if something happened to the boy? The question had been relentless.
“Lucianna, you’re burning the chicken,” Lorelei said patiently from the dining table where she was going over letters with Kristina.
“Oh! Right.” I stuck a fork in the chicken and flipped it over in the iron skillet. Dinner would be simple tonight. We were cooking up the rest of the snap beans Kristina had kept sacked and buried in the frozen snow over the winter. With a little luck and continued rain, the garden they’d planted just before my arrival would produce soon and we wouldn’t be without vegetables for long. The hour was late, and while I didn’t know what possessed us to wait for such an hour to eat dinner, it seemed the other women had as tapered an appetite as me. The chicken was crispy but edible and I poured us cups of newly de-creamed milk before taking my seat.
“How do you fight off the ghost of a former lover?” I asked Lorelei.
She pushed her beans around the plate and the fork made a small scratching sound against the metal. “I suppose it’s different for each situation but for me, I just let him keep her. It wasn’t Anna’s fault all of this happened, and the way Jeremiah speaks of her, she sounded like a kind woman which makes it hard to be uncharitable when I’m feeling jealous.”
“You? Jealous?” Kristina asked through a taunting grin.
“Sometimes I wonder if he loves me as much as he did her. She was his mate too, so what makes me different? For some reason, that matters. Oupita wasn’t Gable’s mate. His love couldn’t have been as strong for her as it is for you. It’s just not the way they work.”
Kristina swallowed a bite of seasoned poultry and didn’t even make a disgusted face. “I saw a picture of Anna once.”
“You did?” Lorelei asked.
“Mmm hmm. Before the fire, Jeremiah kept it by his washbasin and I found it one night. She looks completely opposite of you, Lorelei. Blonde-haired, fair-skinned, light-eyed. You shouldn’t feel jealous. Jeremiah picked two completely different mates so you would never have a reason to compete with each other.”
A small smile tugged at the corner of Lorelei’s mouth. “That actually makes me feel better.”
Around a full mouth, Kristina said, “You know what else will make you feel better? Eating. If you don’t, that baby’s going to give you hell for it in the morning.”
A roar touched my ears and the dryness of my mouth matched that of the chicken. “What was that?” I whispered. I’d heard a wide range of sounds from Gable, but none of them sounded like that. It was deep and bellowed from the trees.
Kristina washed her food down with a quick swig of milk and sauntered over to the front window. “Sounds like a bear’s after the smoke house again.” She pulled the curtains aside. “It’s too dark to see him from here, but I’d bet my bloomers that’s what it is.”
Lorelei smirked. “Are you going to shoot this one?”
“Ha. No thank you. I hunt in daylight only. There isn’t much in that smoke house. He’s welcome to it so long as he doesn’t amble on over this-a-way.”
Not even her nonchalant attitude made me feel better about a bear outside the house. I’d never seen one before, but from the pictures I’d seen in books, I wasn’t in a hurry to meet one tonight.
Lorelei squeezed my hand. “He probably just woke up from hibernation and is looking for an easy meal. He’ll probably eat and move on.”
It would’ve been quite comforting if the bear’s next bellow didn’t sound even closer.
“Ew, I can see him. He’s big.” Kristina’s voice lost its humor. “And he’s coming this way.” She pulled a hidden gun out from somewhere under her dress and made sure the door latch was securely in place. “He must smell the food.”
I stood so fast the chair behind me clunked to the floor. “What do we do?” Even I could hear the high pitched fright in my voice.
“Stay calm. Maybe he’ll give up and go away. See, he disappeared around the side of the house. Maybe he’s headed back to the woods.”
A grating clawing noise sounded from the back bedroom and I stifled a scream. The bear wasn’t giving up at all. He was trying to get in. The clawing stopped but still we could hear the grunting of the animal. The lantern flickered orange light across the other women’s scared expressions. The facade in Kristina’s bravery was even starting to slip. She peeked out the window again and crouched down. Slowly, she jabbed a finger at the door, which was clearly no match for a hungry bear.
Lorelei rushed to a shelf and loaded a pistol with shaking fingers. I pulled my knife which would be next to useless and Kristina backed in front of us with her derringer pointed at the front door. If that bear was going to kill us, we’d at least put up a fight.
I could no more help the scream that tore from my throat as I could my thundering heartbeat as the door splintered inward. A shot echoed through the house and the pressure stopped. An angry roar filled every corner.
“Did you shoot it through the door?” I asked.
Kristina turned with eyes gone round. “That wasn’t me.”
My relief matched Lorelei’s trembling smile. The boys were home.
Another shot rang out and then another and when the rattle of gunfire faded, Jeremiah yelled for Lorelei.
Her voice shook. “Yes, we’re fine!”
Kristina threw open the door and we poured out of the house like a bowl of gravy. Luke had already tied the downed bear by the feet to the saddle horn and his horse was balking against the pressure and close presence of a predator. His green eyes flashed with determination as he bullied the horse toward the barn. Jeremiah slid from the saddle and threw the reins around a post out front before he caught Lorelei’s running hug. I scanned the dark clearing but Gable was nowhere to be seen.
“He’s fine,” Jeremiah said just before I imploded.
“What happened?” Lorelei asked.
“Soldiers caught up to Kicking Bull’s
tribe.” His dark eyes looked bottomless and black in the dark. “We had to bury the bodies before we came back. That’s what took us so long.”
An agonized noise came from somewhere nearby and I was surprised to realize it had come from me. “Oupita? The boy?”
“Alive as far as we know. Didn’t find their bodies so hopefully the soldiers are just taking them up to the reservation. Gable went after them to make sure the boy is safe.”
My hands shook violently. If his son was hurt, or worse, it would break Gable. It would break me. I’d carved out a special place in my heart for the boy of my man’s blood I’d never even met. The ache of my brother’s loss was a burning gash against my heart. I couldn’t mourn another innocent child.
Somberly, Kristina asked, “Who did we know from the bodies?”
“One of Kicking Bull’s sons was there. I knew others but that’s all you and Lorelei would recognize. We buried many a soldier too but I didn’t recognize any of them from town. They must be part of the new barracks. There must’ve been a shift in command or something for them to go that far out of their way to track the tribe down.”
“Kristina,” Luke clipped out from across the clearing.
She grabbed my hand and led me down the steps. “He’ll be wantin’ me to help with the bear hide. You can stay in our house tonight. Goodnight,” she called to Lorelei and Jeremiah over her shoulder.
Luke stood in the moonlight with the bear hanging from a rope on the side of the barn. His eyes shined an unnatural color that not even the dark blanket of night could hide. A constant growl sounded in his throat as he worked with a gleaming knife.
Kristina dropped my hand and stepped forward carefully. “Luke?”
“They killed little kids and women.” He made a single clicking sound behind his teeth and wiped the knife on his pants. “Can you do this?”
“You need to change?”
He grunted his affirmation.
“You want me to help you change?” she asked.
His knife made a slick sound as it slid into its sheath on his belt. “Not tonight.” He turned and strode for the barn doors without another word, and Kristina’s stormy eyes followed him until he was gone.
“I’ll stay out here with you,” I offered. Not even a little part of me wanted to witness the field dressing of a bear, but I’d rarely seen anything but happy optimism on Kristina’s face. And now troubled storm clouds swirled across her features. I couldn’t just leave her out here to harvest the gigantic animal on her own.
“Okay,” she said as she pulled a knife that rivaled Luke’s from the deep pocket of her dress.
I scooted up a wooden crate and sat behind where she stood. “Is he okay?”
“Wolves don’t kill things just to kill them. Not unless they’re crazy. Senseless death is hard on them.”
I kicked a stone with the toe of my worn leather shoe. “Do you think that’s what’s wrong with Gable? Do you think fighting in the war was what broke his wolf?”
Her answer was simple. “Probably.”
****
I became obsessed with waiting for Gable until the anticipation filled every fiber of muscle, and every shard of bone. I worked hard but by evening of the second day without him, I was worthless. I sat glumly on the rocking chair and stared at the trees that lined the clearing. If I wished hard enough, maybe he’d come back.
“Dinner’s on,” Kristina said through the front door.
Just as we sat down to eat, Luke’s head jerked up like he’d been stung by something. “Stay here,” he said as he checked his pistol and left the house.
When we ran to the windows, Jeremiah was already jogging our way from the big house with a pistol cocked and ready. It took an eternity for the buggy to round the corner and appear in front of the barn. Kristina squeezed my arm and sighed with obvious relief. “It’s the sheriff and his wife come callin’.”
I wished some of her relief would wash over to me, but it didn’t. In fact, something in me was screaming to run. Their murmured voices drifted through the thin door but I couldn’t understand a word. Luke gestured for them to follow and I eyed the back room as a possible escape.
“Hello, Eugene, Daisy,” Kristina greeted with a great hug for the latter. “We just set the table and there’s plenty to eat. Come on in.”
I nodded a polite greeting and took my seat slowly like my pulse wasn’t hammering away beneath my skin. When Sheriff Hawkins sat down, he cleared his throat and leveled me with a look before I’d even passed him the potatoes.
“Hello, Lucianna.”
I didn’t remember telling him my name. He unfolded a piece of yellowed paper from his pocket and set it in front of me. On it was a drawing of a woman with the words: Wanted. Alive. Lucianna Whitlock. A sizable reward had been posted and a vague description decorated the bottom line. The ink drawn woman looked eerily like me.
“I knew I recognized you from somewhere. Just couldn’t figure out where until I took a closer look at this here wanted poster. Says you’re wanted for murdering your family.”
“That’s a lie!” I slammed my open palm on the table and Kristina and Daisy both jumped. “I’d never hurt my family.”
“Stop.” His eyes were stone cold and dared me to lie. “Now, I know these Dawson boys. I know what they are but I also know they’re good men and it ain’t in them to be harboring a fugitive lightly. I haven’t sent a single telegraph and I took down your poster from the general store window to give you a chance to explain to me why you are one of the only women in existence with her very own wanted poster.”
Luke leaned against the front door with a hand on the handle of his holstered weapon and Kristina’s hands had disappeared under the table. The crack of her derringer was deafening. “She ain’t goin’ with you, Sheriff.”
His dark eyes never left mine, and his thick mustache twitched. “Who’d you piss off to get a reward that big, Ms. Whitlock?”
My breathing was ragged and my voice shook worse than my hands. “Ralston Bastrop. I was engaged to be married but I backed out of his proposal. He’s an evil man. He ordered his men massacre my entire family.”
“Stand up,” Kristina demanded.
When I did, she spun me and tore at the laces of my dress until my bare back was exposed. “She’s got more holes on her front from that monster. He’s probably put those damned wanted posters all over America by now in an effort to find her. He’s fishing. Bastrop will kill her if you give her up.”
Horror swam in Daisy’s wide, blue eyes and the sheriff couldn’t seem to take his level gaze away from the scars of my struggles. I pulled away and pulled at the laces as best I could while flaming heat burned my cheeks.
He swung fiery eyes on Luke and a vein throbbed at his temple. “Dammit, Dawson, what am I supposed to do with this one?”
Luke shrugged like he couldn’t care less as long as the answer wasn’t arrest me. “She’s Gable’s mate. She’s one of us, Hawkins. She’s an innocent who caught the fancy of a bad man with a big reach. We’re open to suggestions.”
“Where’s Gable?”
“Escorting a tribe of Ute to the reservation.”
The sheriff’s exasperated expression for each Dawson in turn was almost humorous. “Do you boys have your hands in everything around here?”
“Well,” Luke drawled. “It ain’t like we go lookin’ for trouble.”
Sheriff Hawkins snorted. “Every time one of you brings home a new wife, there’s bloodshed.”
Luke’s smile was predatory. “We like our women challenging.”
Kristina finished tying the laces to my dress and my knees buckled. Sitting down wasn’t exactly what I meant to do, but I think I pulled it off well. I grabbed the bowl of potatoes and plopped a blob on my plate. The table stared at me like I’d turned into a fruit tree.
“Would you mind terribly if I kept this?” I held up the poster. “I haven’t any pictures of myself and I’m sure Gable would love to carry this around in his pocke
t.”
The sheriff barked a surprised laugh and rubbed his face like he hadn’t slept in a long time. “Daisy, I swear if you ever get yourself on a wanted poster, I’m gonna buy you a horse and make you ride it.”
“You could try,” she grumbled.
“Let me see that.” Kristina snatched the poster out of my hand and squinted at it. “It don’t look nothin’ like you.”
“It’s a little off,” Sheriff Hawkins amended, “which is why I think you’ve avoided the townspeople sending a telegram and outing you. The description of your hair at the bottom’s gonna give you away sooner or later though. This Bastrop fellow—how dangerous is he?”
“Very. Or at least he was in England. I assume he has important contacts here too, or how else would he finagle a wanted poster on a charge that’s only evidence against me is that I survived?”
Sheriff Hawkins sighed and took an offered plate of hot rolls from my hand. “So what’s the end game here, Dawson? Are you going to get him to trial or kill him?”
Luke took his hand from his pistol and joined us at the table. “Both.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Lucianna
I traced the fine grain of the wooden wall beside Kristina’s guest bed with the tip of my finger. I wasn’t sleepy at all after the disturbing dinner conversation earlier this evening. Round and round my mind went on plans of how not only to survive Ralston, but how to protect my new family as well.
A soft knock wrapped on the door and I pulled the blanket up to cover my shift. “Come in.”
Luke opened the door, muttering, “If you bite her, I’m gonna shoot you my damned self.”
My huge, snow colored wolf loped into the bedroom. His nails clicked across the floorboards as he approached the bed.
“Night,” Luke said before the door snapped quietly closed behind him.
“Goodnight.” I didn’t say it loudly but it was enough he’d be able to hear. Gable sat and watched me with a clear, liquid blue gaze.
“Is he okay?” I asked.
He ducked his head and pressed his nose under my arm. I ran my fingers through the thick fur at his neck and closed my eyes as I bathed in the relief that came with being near him. “I missed you.”