Fury filled him at the memory of her casual dismissal, then sadistic pleasure washed over him as he recalled her brutal demise. He wondered if the Indians had enjoyed her before killing her, and he vengefully hoped they had. At least he had obtained his revenge on her last trip home. Secretly he had sent Clarissa to visit a friend one night, then had cleverly summoned Marissa to the Circle C Ranch with a forged note from his daughter, for the two had become friends, despite their different personalities. He trembled with ecstasy as he remembered that last night with Marissa tied to his bedposts and him feeding his savage hungers with her tasty body. He had learned the truth from his man Fargo about how she was being forced by Raymond to whore for her family’s support, and he had given her no choice but to endure whatever he chose to do to her. He had threatened to expose their past affair and her current demeaning situation to her beloved father. After all, if she could sell it to strangers to stake her fancy gambler, he had reasoned, then, after what they had shared and she had done to him, she could certainly give him all he wanted or needed. Poor little Marissa; she had really changed, for the girl he had known would not have allowed anyone to use her, and it had seemed she no longer enjoyed sex. He had not cared, as long as she could sate his needs as only she had been able to do. Damn her, he mentally cursed. She had haunted him for years, and still did so on occasion. He shuddered now as he mentally relived that night of bliss and domination.
Perhaps he was the only one who had known why Marissa had run off a few days later with that no-good husband of hers. Besides being tied by the mysterious and powerful hold that Raymond Michaels had over her, she had had the knowledge of what her fate would have been at Harrison’s hands—or at least what she had thought it would be. Actually he had intended to slay Raymond Michaels and marry his widow, for even then he had still yearned to possess her. Too bad he had forgotten to reveal his plans to Marissa while he was having the best night of his life. The truth was, Marissa Crandall Michaels had been terrified of her husband, and with just cause, from his reports.
Harrison still remembered the look on Marissa’s face when he had boasted of supplying the money every time his man Fargo had copulated with her while seeking information for him. He had laughed at her for not having the guts to leave or to kill Raymond Michaels. Clearly she despised her husband and his cruelties, but the man had had some petrifying hold over her that she had been afraid to break or challenge. How he wished he had guessed their secret. Harrison knew that if he had offered her marriage and protection, she would be lying in his bed this very night, waiting to ease the aching in his loins, and the Rocking C would now be a part of his kingdom.
If only he had known Raymond Michaels would show up early… He had wanted to punish Marissa and play with her a few days before changing her life completely. When he discovered that Michaels had taken her away, he had planned to go after her, get rid of Michaels, and marry Marissa. The Kiowas had ended that dream. Too bad, he decided, for Marissa could have given him a handsome son and her father’s ranch.
Soon he should begin looking for a wife, an innocent, beautiful young thing like Marissa had been, a girl he could train to his liking and needs. This time, he would not make the mistake of letting her know how pleasurable and rewarding sex could be!
Chapter Four
At dawn, Nathan Crandall stared at his ranch foreman as Travis revealed the unexpected terms for his granddaughter’s exchange and his agreement with Lone Wolf. “That’s a low-down trick, son, and I don’t like it,” Nathan declared angrily after learning of the deceitful marriage stipulation and the demand for Rana’s ignorance of the truth until they were far away. As he listened, the older man jerked his head around to glare at the band of warriors who were waiting patiently for the two white men to ride out before them, and, as he did so, a silvery blond lock of hair fell over his forehead. His faded blue eyes narrowed and sparked with warring emotions as he absently brushed it aside and put on his hat.
Travis shrugged and frowned. “I know, but we have no choice. The joining won’t be legal, so Rana can select her own husband when the time comes. You know I wouldn’t take advantage of your granddaughter, even if she is the most beautiful female I’ve ever seen,” he added with a roguish grin. “She’s one headstrong filly, Nate. Looked and sounded to me as if she’s carrying plenty of Crandall blood and spirit.”
As the two men packed their camping gear and Nathan saddled his horse, Travis related his talks with and impressions of Rana and Lone Wolf. “She was one lucky girl to be taken in by Soaring Hawk and his people. But if I’ve pegged her right, she’ll give us trouble just to show her mettle. Lone Wolf has enough problems without adding Rana’s defiance or creating dissension amongst the other warriors who have their hearts set on marrying her. I must admit, she’s a woman who could blind a man to duty and caution if she had a mind to. If she learned about our deal, she would choose an Oglala warrior to marry just to stir up things. The way me and Lone Wolf plan to handle matters, she won’t have time to think or react badly. We have to be strong, Nate, or we’ll never get her back to Texas. You have to remember she’s been raised to hate and suspect whites since she was a child. If we don’t follow White Eagle’s suggestions, we’re in for a long, rough ride home.”
“Sounds crafty, but I still don’t like it,” he admitted, then asked worriedly, “What happens if we can’t get the guns and supplies?”
“First we have to recover the money from where we hid it. Just follow my lead,” Travis cautioned, then explained his plan. Next he walked to the Oglala band and gave them their final instructions. Then he mounted, took the reins of the four borrowed packhorses, and rode away with Nathan beside him and the Indians trailing at a safe distance.
Wild Wind awoke with a start and glanced toward the sleeping mat where the bedeviling stranger had slept the night before. She was disappointed to find it empty and felt he had intentionally left before seeing her, a fact she found vexing. She waited for Lone Wolf to awaken so she could question him about the enticing and infuriating stranger.
The young chief smiled and said guardedly, “Do not trouble your spirit, little sister; he will return before the full moon. He rides with Oglalas to buy weapons and supplies for our people’s survival.”
“I do not understand, my brother. Why does White Eagle side with us against his own people? Can he be trusted?” she inquired.
The astute warrior recognized this opportunity for pushing his sister toward the man she would be ordered to marry. He responded cunningly, “Do you not know that White Eagle is half Lakota? He was born and lived under Grandfather’s eyes for twenty winters in the camp of our Hunkpapa brothers. He trained as a warrior and many times I have heard of and witnessed his great prowess. He chooses to side with his mother’s people because he feels the whites are wrong to invade our lands and to kill Lakotas. He is a man of great honor and courage. I call him friend and helper. He returned to our lands to obey the words of Grandfather. He has ridden many moons on a mission, and I must help him fulfill it. You must say and do nothing to dishonor him. In his hands is the power to save our people. His heart is good, Wild Wind. Do not hurt him or shame him.”
She was surprised by his mysterious words and appealing tone. “What is the meaning of your strange words, my brother?”
“White Eagle has known much pain and sadness from his mixed bloods. Many times he has been rejected and scorned. He covers his heart to prevent more pain and rejection, and he hides his gentleness, for many foolishly think that such behavior reveals weakness. When he fulfills Grandfather’s command, he will return to his home. I wish him to leave our camp with happy thoughts and feelings. Do not treat him as you do other warriors, for you have touched his heart and warmed it. Soon he will leave our lands forever. Do not send him away in coldness.”
Astonishment widened her blue-gray eyes. Her heart began to pound heavily with excitement and her gaze mellowed dreamily. She had been touched and warmed by White Eagle. She hated to think of
his departure, to think she would never be allowed to explore these feelings he inspired within her. “He spoke of me?” she asked eagerly.
Lone Wolf grinned and nodded, then cleverly changed the subject. “The full moon nears, little sister. Black Hawk and Prairie Dog have asked to make trade for you. Do you wish me to say you are promised to Rides-Like-Thunder? Or do you desire another warrior as mate?”
Wild Wind bristled and her cheeks flushed with annoyance. “I desire no man as mate, my selfish brother. Do not rush me. Who will care for Lone Wolf if he sends his sister away?”
“I will make trade for Myeerah,” he calmly announced. He added pointedly, “After my tepee has privacy for a first night of mating.”
Wild Wind’s cheeks grew redder and she briefly lowered her gaze. She thought about her best friend, with her large brown eyes and silky black hair. Myeerah had been in love with Lone Wolf for years. She was smart and genial, the perfect choice for her Indian brother. “Myeerah will make you a good wife, my brother and chief. We have been friends for many winters and she speaks of you each sun.”
“That is why my sister should have her own mate before I bring Myeerah to my tepee. It would be hard for her to become a wife and mother while her friend sleeps nearby. Childhood must be put behind her. If Wild Wind remains in our tepee, she would remain a girl. I do not wish her to see and hear how Wild Wind disobeys her brother and chief. It will be good for Wild Wind and Lone Wolf to take mates together on the full moon. We will join, feast, and enter separate tepees.”
Her heart lurched in panic, for it seemed that freedom was swiftly deserting her. It would serve him right if she married a white man and moved far away where he could never see her again! That thought jolted her, for she knew who had inspired it. But how could the daughter of Soaring Hawk join to a half-blooded male, one who provoked her to anger and rashness? He was a stranger, and her time was short. No doubt he could have any woman he desired—if he even wanted to take a wife.
Wild Wind placed her back to Lone Wolf to ponder her troubling thoughts and her situation. She did not want to marry any warrior she knew, or one she did not know. Travis’s image continued to appear before her mind’s eye, warming her more each time. She remembered his stirring touch, his sensual smile, his tenderness, his entreating eyes, and his stimulating kisses. How could she despise his half-white blood and skin when she was all white? Time was her enemy. There was no time or chance to observe him. According to Lone Wolf’s words, White Eagle would return the day before or the day of the full moon, when she was to give her promise and her body to her new mate. She inhaled loudly. She had been taught that whites were evil. This half-white male had inspired more bad dreams and rankling fears. Their lives were far apart. It was foolish to dream of him!
Wild Wind faced Lone Wolf. “I will obey, my brother and chief. I grow weary of our quarrels. I ask one thing; let me speak the name of my chosen mate on the sun of our joining day in six moons. I wish to be certain Black Hawk is the best choice for Wild Wind. Do not tell him or others I think on him,” she insisted in order to stall for additional time.
Lone Wolf could hardly believe she was yielding, and so easily. He prayed he was not wrong about the reason behind her hesitation to announce Black Hawk as her choice, just as he prayed Travis Kincade would return on or before the full moon, the time of her decision…
“You Claude Chambers?” Travis asked the man behind the counter in the sturdily constructed trading post that was two days’ ride from the Oglala camp, and three days’ return ride with supplies.
The man looked Travis over, then did the same with Nathan. “Yep, that’s me, owner of Chambers Trading Post, biggest and best post in these parts. What you fellers be needing today?”
“I’m Bill Saunders and this here is my friend, Thomas Clardy,” Travis replied smoothly. “I just took over a wagon train whose scout got itchy feet after a few Injun attacks and run out on ‘em. Got me about a hundred wagons of green easterners who don’t know the difference between a man’s gun and boy’s peashooter. I left ‘em camped about forty miles south of here while I try to round up some proper weapons and ammunition. I’m surprised the fools got this far alive. How are you set for rifles—Henry .44’s and Winchester .44’s?”
A broad smile crossed Chambers’s face. The idea of a big sale caused his eyes to gleam. In eagerness he rubbed his hands together as he boasted, “I got all the guns you need, mister, and plenty of ammunition and supplies. Folks sure need protection with these renegades running loose, terrorizing and burning ever’thing in sight. How many you looking to buy? Where are your wagons heading?”
“Right into the hands of the Modocs and Shoshones. I tried to get ‘em to settle around here, but they’re determined it’s Oregon. Best I can do for ‘em is get ‘em proper weapons and teach ‘em how to use ‘em. As for me and Tom here, we’re heading on down to California soon as we get them settlers to the end of their trail. I got me about eighty men and boys who need good rifles and enough ammunition to see us there—about forty boxes should do it. I’ll also be needing…say fifty knives. Wouldn’t hurt ‘em none to learn how to fight hand to hand. Let’s see,” he murmured as if recalling his list of needs. “Them women are complaining about cold nights. You got around forty or fifty blankets? And I need four sacks of cornmeal; some got busted a ways back. What kinds of prices you asking?”
Chambers took a slate and a piece of chalk and began to figure his profit. Travis eyed him and the amount skeptically and shook his head. “I came here ‘cause we heard you was an honest man, Chambers. Where’s the next trading post? Maybe we can deal better there.”
“Hold yer pants. I’ll see if I can refigure. You don’t know how hard and dangerous it is to get these supplies out this far. A man has to earn something for his troubles. Seventy-five dollars is a good price for a rifle like that.” He suggested a slightly lower price for the items.
Travis looked over the list and the addition, then shook his head. “Still too high. I know what I need and how much money I got. I’ll have to find me a place where my needs and money match. See ya,” he said cordially and turned to leave.
“Then make me a decent offer,” the owner challenged hungrily.
Travis returned to the counter and picked up the slate and chalk. After rubbing it clean, he spoke aloud as he wrote and figured. “Forty boxes of ammunition at five dollars each, fifty knives at three dollars each, fifty blankets at ten dollars each, four sacks of cornmeal at fifteen each, eighty rifles or carbines at fifty dollars each, and ninety dollars in sewing supplies, jerky, and coffee for five thousand dollars in U.S. money and gold. Plus I’ll need to borrow one of your wagons to get it back to camp. Tom will return it in a few days. Is it a bargain, Chambers?” Travis had added the last three items to prevent suspicion and hoped that his ploy would work.
“You’re robbing me blind,” Chambers accused deceitfully, knowing Travis’s offer was a fair one. He himself was never fair unless he was forced to be. He grinned. “You’re a smart feller, Bill Saunders. Them folks are lucky you signed on as scout. I’ll let you have everything today except the knives. When your friend returns with my wagon, he can pick up the knives. Might say I have to protect myself in case my wagon don’t come home again.”
Travis had prepared for this demand. “Ninety dollars is more than enough proof against your wagon not returning. Tom and the others will retrieve the jerky, coffee, and sewing supplies when your wagon comes home. Those items will fit better on packhorses than a crate of knives. And don’t go suggesting I leave the cornmeal, ‘cause I don’t want more sacks busted by bouncing them around on horseback for days. You write out a paper saying them supplies are paid for, just in case you ain’t around when your wagon comes home.”
“Let’s go in the back room so you can look over the rifles,” Chambers slyly suggested before Travis could. He led the way into the adjoining room and pried open five oblong crates containing fifteen rifles each, stacked in five rows of three w
eapons. He placed five carbines across the top of the first one and began stacking boxes of ammunition nearby.
Travis lifted and examined each of the five Winchester .44 carbines, which would fire thirteen rounds before reloading. In the first three crates of Winchester .44’s, which would fire seventeen rounds before reloading, he examined a different row of rifles in each wooden box. In the fourth crate, he examined every rifle, as he did with the fifth crate of Henry .44 rifles. He was satisfied with his purchase, knowing his random search would have exposed any deception on Chambers’s part.
“Harvey, nail them crates while Mister Saunders checks over this ammunition,” Chambers ordered pleasantly.
Travis quickly and sporadically examined boxes of ammunition, then asked to see the knives and blankets. He followed Chambers into another room and waited for the man to count out fifty of each to be checked. Twice Chambers lost his count and had to restart it. As with the other items, Travis randomly selected knives and blankets to study for quality. “I’m going to trust you on the cornmeal. But if I find it bad when it’s dumped into barrels at camp, I’m sending it back with the wagon. You set our other supplies aside to be picked up in a few days.”
When Travis and Chambers had gone into the other room, Harvey sent Nathan to harness the team and wagon and to bring it around to the back door. When Travis returned to the first room, Nathan was watching Harvey and another man load gun crates. Afterward the ammunition, knives, blankets, and cornmeal were loaded by the two men while Travis paid Chambers and waited for a receipt for the goods that supposedly would be picked up later when the wagon was returned.
“You sure it’s safe to go riding out with such a valuable shipment and only two guards?” Chambers inquired as he watched the two men climb aboard the wagon and take their seats.
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