Kentucky Bride

by Norah Hess

  Her face fiery red, D'lise made no response. She knew what he was talking about, though. If the men in the other room were anything like Rufus, they'd pounce on a woman, work their hips a couple of times, then roll over. With Rufus there was a difference, however. He had always continued to ram his body against Auntie just to hurt her, to wear her out.

  "Tell me about yourself." Kane's voice brought a welcome break in her unhappy thoughts.

  She gazed at him for a moment, then shrugged and said, "There's not much to tell about me. I've lived with Auntie and Rufus since I was eight years old. The only thing I've known for the last ten years is work. Other than that, I don't know what to talk about."

  "'No beaus to talk about? Most girls are married by eighteen, maybe even with a couple children."

  D'lise gave a contemptuous laugh. "Beaus? A couple of men did come around once but Rufus shot at them… which was foolish of him. Marriage has no appeal for me."

  "Maybe you'll change your mind someday," Kane suggested. "All men aren't like Rufus Enger." He remembered his uncle Buck and what he'd said when Kane had had his first introduction into the world of sex.

  "Never be mean to a woman, Kane," the big man had advised him. "They are weaker than us men and should be handled gently." He had grinned then and ruffled his nephew's hair. "You treat a female, whore or squaw, gentle-like, and she'll damn near kill herself pleasurin' you."

  "Perhaps you're right," D'lise was answering him, "but it would take a lot to convince me."

  "I'll introduce you to some of my trapper friends. They'd treat you like a fine piece of china." As D'lise looked at him doubtfully, he stood up. "I reckon everyone will be satisfied with my time spent in here. I think I'll go sit in on a poker game that's goin' on in the tavern. I feel lucky tonight." He kept to himself that if he didn't get away from D'lise, he'd be confirming her opinion of men. The warmth and clean scent of her body had seeped into him, firing his blood, bringing an ache to his loins. Never had he wanted a woman so badly.

  Suddenly angry at himself for letting a beautiful woman affect him so, something that had never happened before, he left the room abruptly, not even saying goodnight.

  The crowd in the barroom had thinned out considerably when Kane walked back into it. And as he stood at the bar having a glass of whiskey, more of the men began to brave the weather and head for home. Shortly the only sounds in the room were the slap of cards as the four men left continued their poker game, and the drunken snores of a man passed out on the floor. Kane swallowed the balance of his whiskey and looked over at the corner where the whores stood, eyeing him coyly. The men would think nothing of him spending the rest of the night with a whore. He didn't doubt for a minute that such a practice was normal for these hill men.

  He nodded goodnight to Slim and walked over to the redhead. She thrust her sagging breasts at him and said in what she thought were seductive tones, "You want Della to show you a good time, big man?"

  "I'm dependin' on it." Kane flipped her a coin, which from long practice she snatched out of the air. Then, to the disappointment of the other women, he followed the whore down the hall. Surprisingly, he felt a twinge of guilt when Della opened a door next to D'lise's. Cut it out, he growled to himself, following the woman inside. D'lise Alexander wouldn't care in the least if he slept with a dozen whores. She'd probably expect it of him.

  As he shucked his clothes that thought saddened him somehow.

  D'lise awakened, curled on her side. Scrag purring loudly in the curve of her body. She rolled over on her back, then with a small cry quickly returned to her side. She had evidently opened more of the gashes on her back than she had realized.

  For a moment she thought she was still back at the shack, and raised herself up on one elbow to look. Had she overslept? Surely not. It was still dark, and besides, Rufus wasn't standing over her with his belt. In a flash then, everything that had happened yesterday came back to her—Aunt Anna's burial, Rufus's attempt to rape her, and the stranger who had taken her away.

  She remembered that she'd had a hard time falling asleep last night. Her ankle had throbbed painfully, and her nerves had been as tight as the bowstrings on a fiddle. And if that wasn't enough, she could hear through the thin walls the thumping of bed springs as some whore entertained a man.

  D'lise gave a bitter laugh as a burst of hilarity reached down the hall and into her room. There were no female voices raised in laughter and song. Men were the only ones who had anything to laugh and sing about. Certainly the women who catered to the men's lust didn't.

  And her life wouldn't have been any different if Kane Devlin hadn't come along, she told herself, then frowned in the darkness. Who was to say her future would be any better than her past? She didn't know what the trapper had in mind for her. He was young, still in his early thirties, she thought. Beyond a doubt he wanted a woman often.

  "I'd better stop feeling sorry for those tavern women and start thinking about myself," she muttered.

  D'lise felt so wide awake that she began to wonder if she had overslept. She slid out of bed and limped to the door. When she cracked it open, she blinked in surprise. An outside door, only feet from her own, stood open, and bright sunshine beamed through it.

  "Oh, heavens," she exclaimed under her breath. "Kane is probably champing at the bit to get on the trail." She left the door partly open so that she could find her dress spread over the end-rail of the bed. She pulled it over her head and buttoned up the bodice. Then, combing her fingers through her black curls, she picked up her pet, muttering, "Come on, Scrag, we're late."

  Half a dozen men looked up when D'lise walked into the tavern. She stopped short, shy and afraid. A quick glance showed that Kane wasn't among them. Her nose twitched at the stale odor of whiskey, rum, ale, and tobacco smoke. As she stood there, undecided what to do, a mouse skittered through the sawdust on the floor, and with a bound, Scrag was out of her arms and chasing after it. She called to him, ordering him back, but the tom was too intent on his prey.

  Slim, scrubbing down the bar, gave her a friendly smile. "He don't even hear you, girl. He wants that little brown critter for his breakfast."

  "Yes, I suppose so." D'lise returned his smile nervously, aware that the men lolling before the dying fire in the fireplace had turned their chairs to stare at her. She lowered her lids and moved to the bar, pretending not to notice how their hot eyes raked over her.

  "I don't see Kane around," she said timidly to Slim. "I imagine he's saddling the horses."

  The bartender glanced up at her, then looked away. Her straight gaze disconcerted him. He gave a troubled sigh and said evasively, "I couldn't say, girl. I've been busy cleanin' the kitchen and bar."

  "Maybe I'd better go look for him," D'lise said, half to herself, anxiety clouding her eyes. "I know he wanted to get an early start this morning."

  Slim shook his head warningly at the loutish hill man who had left his seat and was approaching D'lise. The man ignored him and placed himself beside her. His breath reeked of whiskey and bad teeth as he said, "He'll be along after a while, little lady. He got a late start last night."

  D'lise stared into the dirty, whiskered face. "He got a late start at what?" she asked coolly. "Playing cards?"

  "Naw." Mean little eyes bored into hers. "Puttin' it to ole Della. And that one can't never get enough. She's probably wore your man all out."

  D'lise held his gaze, her eyes carefully blank, hiding the fact that his words had made an impact on her and that she was astonished that they had. What did she care whom he slept with? Kane Devlin was nothing to her.

  "I'll wait for him in my room then," she said calmly and turned toward the narrow hall. When Kane was finished with his whore, he could come for her.

  She took three steps, and the hill man, with animal swiftness, caught hold of her wrist and swung her around. "I'll go with you, keep you company." He grinned wolfishly.

  "Let go of me!" D'lise gasped, struggling to free her arm. Her heart raced with
fear. Her tormentor had that awful look Rufus used to get, and she gathered herself to feel the lash of his fist. "I've changed my mind. I'll wait for Kane in here."

  "You'll be waitin' a long time, little purty. He's still rustlin' the mattress with Della." He tugged at her arm. "Come on down to her door. You can hear him poundin' away at her."

  D'lise dug in her heels and strained against the pull of strong fingers. She didn't want to hear. She knew all too well the sound of a man pounding his body against that of a woman—the grunts, the oaths that spilled out of his mouth. And strangely, she didn't want to hear Kane making those animal-like noises.

  "I believe you," she panted, trying to pry loose the biting fingers. "I just want to go sit down over there and wait for Kane."

  "Naw, I think we'll go to your room. Me and you can have the same kind of fun your man and ole Della is havin'."

  He was picking her up when she screamed and called Slim's name.

  Kane gave one last thrust of his hips, groaned his release, then slumped down on the whore. When his breathing returned to normal, he moved off her flaccid body and rolled over on his back.

  With an arm flung across his eyes, he thought back over the night just spent in this bed. He had lost count of how many times he had mounted the woman lying beside him, how many times she had serviced him before he had fallen asleep, wondering why he didn't feel fulfilled. Even now, just after emptying his loins he longed for… longed for what?

  He didn't know, but he did know that something was missing.

  "Maybe you long for the one asleep next door," a voice inside him spoke. "She is the one you really wish was sharing your bed, not the one with the stink of other men on her."

  Kane raised his head to look at the female body sprawled beside him. Sober now, and in the light of day, he wondered how he could have lain with the whore. Although she probably wasn't that old, she looked to be in her mid-forties, worn-out from the demands of the men who paid for her services.

  Kane suddenly sat up as the words "light of day" returned to him. Good Lord, according to the sunshine pouring through the dirty window, it must be past nine o'clock! D'lise probably thought he had gone off and left her. He swore softly, sitting on the edge of the sagging bed and drawing on his buckskins. What if she had left the post? He jerked the doeskin shirt over his head, leaving the thin leather thongs unlaced in his hurry. He remembered the four men who were still playing cards when he'd left with Della, and his fingers became all thumbs as he tugged on his knee-high moccasins. What if they had got hold of D'lise while he wallowed around with the whore?

  He was rushing for the door when he heard D'lise scream, then call out to Slim. He tore open the door and dashed down the hall, coming to a skidding halt just inside the barroom. A scalding rage burst inside him. D'lise struggled with a hill man, her face contorted with fear. He noted for a fleeting second that Slim, a club in his hand, was hurrying across the floor to help her.

  In that moment before he leapt at the man, Kane felt shame—shame that he hadn't been waiting for the girl when she woke up, shame that he hadn't needed, nor really wanted, that last romp with the whore. By making a hog of himself, he had endangered the girl's welfare.

  He also knew a jab of hurt that D'lise had called out to another man for help. It was proof she had little faith in his ability to take care of her.

  The room grew deathly quiet, and the hill man took his attention from D'lise and turned his head to look in the direction everyone else was looking. His face blanched, the black stubble of whiskers on his face glaring against the whiteness. In the next instant, he dropped D'lise and bolted for the door. Kane went after him, grabbed him, and spun him around. With lightning speed his fist lashed out, landing between the mean little eyes. Blood spurted from a smashed nose as the man staggered back, caught himself for a moment, then folded senseless to the floor.

  Kane wheeled, putting his back to the bar, his fists clenched, ready to do battle if anyone wanted to take up the hill man's fight. A long minute passed in which nobody moved. The threat in the cold eyes, the speed of the hard fist warned them not to mess with the stranger. Kane looked at D'lise then, apology in his gaze.

  "Did he hurt you?" he asked.

  She smiled weakly. "I think I twisted my ankle again, and my wrists hurt a little." She shivered. "Mostly I was afraid."

  Kane started to walk toward her, to examine the red welts on her flesh, then stopped abruptly. Her delicate nostrils were quivering as though she smelled something bad. Dammit to hell. He silently berated himself. I meant to wash the whore smell off me before seeing her today.

  He was still castigating himself when Della brushed past him, a knowing smirk directed at D'lise. When humiliation appeared in D'lise's eyes and she bent her head to stare at the floor, he glared after the whore. He had never hit a woman in his life, but he wanted to smash this one, right in her sneering lips. When she would have sashayed into the kitchen, he caught her by the arm, hauling her back.

  "Go wash the stink off you," he ordered coldly, "then serve Miss Alexander some breakfast." He narrowed his eyes on her sullen face and added, "And don't have the kid do it. You serve her, real nice-like."

  The threat of violence in his eyes sent Della scurrying to the kitchen with Slim's laughter following her. Kane turned his gaze back to D'lise and said to the top of her head, "I'll be back shortly. I want to check on Snowy and Hound."

  When D'lise only nodded, he turned around, and one foot came down on Scrag's tail. The cat let out a screech that made everyone jump. Amusement twitching her lips, D'lise picked up the insulted cat, and scratching his ears soothingly, she sat down at the table and waited for her breakfast.

  She knew a sense of satisfaction sitting there, watching Della make her breakfast. Although Kane had slept with the woman, his command said that he held respect for D'lise Alexander. She looked up when Slim's tall figure loomed over her.

  "You feelin' all right now?" he asked with a friendly smile.

  "I'm fine." She returned the smile. "Thank you for your intention of coming to my rescue."

  The bartender dismissed her words with a wave of his hand. "I've wanted an excuse to club that one over the head for a long time. He's always causin' trouble one way or the other." He paused. "I've heated a kettle of water. Would you like to come into the kitchen and wash your face and hands before you eat?"

  "Yes, I would, thank you." D'lise stood up, sliding the cat off her lap. As she limped after Slim, she thought it was just as well she was barefoot. She couldn't have worn a shoe on the swollen foot if she'd had one. She sat down on a kitchen chair and said, "If it's not too much trouble, I think I should bathe my ankle in some cold water. The swelling doesn't seem to be coming down."

  "Let me take a look at it." Slim knelt beside her and carefully lifted her foot. "You've got a bad sprain there, missy," he said after a moment. "You need to have it bound up real tight." Then, gazing at a spot somewhere above her head, he blushed and stammered, "There's a—a necessary buildin' back of the post if—if you need to use it. When you come back, I'll take care of your ankle."

  How had Slim known that her bladder was about to burst? D'lise wondered as she thanked the thoughtful man.

  Della didn't look up from the fire as D'lise limped past her and out the back door. By the time she'd used the rude facility and washed up in the water Slim poured into a basin, the sullen whore had ham, eggs, and biscuits waiting. When she walked back into the barroom, Slim chuck-led. "I guess the trapper put the fear of God into her. She's usually full of sass."

  Kane didn't go to check on his animals as he had claimed he was going to do, but rather walked the short distance to the river. He stood on its bank, took off his clothes and moccasins, then dove into the water. It was icy cold when he surfaced. He lost no time reaching down to the river bed and coming up with a handful of sand. He began to scrub himself with it, repeating the action until his whole body, including his head, felt clean and tingly, completely free of Dell
a's stink. He combed his fingers through his heavy, dripping beard. It was time he shaved it off. Maybe the girl wouldn't be so wary of him if he didn't look so much like a buffalo.

  He waded out onto the bank and sat down on a large rock, letting the sun warm and dry his body and hair. A three-point deer watched him from the shallows across the river, but he was unaware of its presence. His mind was on D'lise.

  He didn't like the way she was beginning to affect him, like his planning to shave off his beard to make her look more kindly on him. He had never cared before if a woman minded his beard, nor had he cared how he looked wearing it. But this slip of a girl with the lonesome-looking eyes had his mind all in a muddle.

  What was he to do with this badly treated young woman he had taken under his care? He hadn't given that a thought when he took her away from her brutal uncle. It hadn't entered his mind that taking care of a young female would not be as simple as taking care of the hound he'd adopted. All he'd known was that a young girl was being abused, and that he should take her away from her abuser.

  Hound pretty much took care of himself, needing only a pat on the head occasionally. Kane smiled wryly. If he tried to pat D'lise Alexander on the head, he might draw his hand back missing a finger!

  Not that he wanted to pat her on the head, or any other place, he told himself.

  There was only one thing to do, he decided. When he got home tomorrow, he'd pick up his old life as usual. He'd have his women just like before, come and go as he pleased. What the beautiful one would think about it, he didn't care. In time she would get over her fear of men and he'd be able to marry her off, get her off his hands.

  The deer had grown tired of watching the silent, naked man, and with a flick of its tail, it splashed out of the water and bounded into the forest. "You'd make some mighty fine eatin'," Kane murmured as he came back to the present and began donning his clothes.