Kentucky Bride

by Norah Hess

  "How serious is the wound, Doctor?" she asked in a voice barely above a whisper, the scared look on David's face increasing her fear.

  "Actually, it's not serious at all," the doctor answered. "That is, if your husband stays off his feet for at least a week." He looked down at Kane and grinned. "It's painful as hell though, isn't it, Mr. Devlin?" Kane nodded and the doctor added, "The bullet passed through his leg, missing the bone, but tearing through muscles and nerves."

  He opened the little black bag he'd carried into the cabin and took from it a bottle marked carbolic acid. He measured some of the liquid into the steaming water; then after swirling a cloth through it, he began to cleanse the wound. Kane flinched at the bite of the acid but made no sound.

  It came time then for the stitches. D'lise gripped both of Kane's hands in hers, but looked away when the doctor bent over him with the needle. But she knew each time the needle penetrated Kane's flesh by the tightening of his fingers around hers, and she felt his pain as though it were happening to her.

  It was over finally, with Kane's face pale and beaded with sweat. D'lise patted his face dry with the corner of the sheet and stroked his forehead as Dr. Ashley bandaged his leg. She looked up when the doctor spoke.

  "He'll probably sleep a while now. Don't let him move that leg when he wakes up." He snapped his bag closed and stood up. "I'll be by tomorrow to check on him."

  "Thank you, Dr. Ashley." D'lise rose and walked with him from the room. Out on the porch the man gave her arm a friendly pat. "Don't look so worried," he said. "Your husband is going to be just fine. In fact, he looks better than you do." He studied her face with professional eyes. "Are you with child, by any chance?"

  Surprise flickered across D'lise's face. It was a few seconds before she answered, "I think I am. I've missed two menses." She looked at him anxiously. "I haven't told anyone yet, Doctor. Not even Kane."

  "Your secret is safe with me, D'lise." Dr. Ashley smiled at her as he climbed into his buggy. He flicked a whip over the horse's back, and the vehicle whirred away.

  When D'lise returned to the bedroom, she found Kane asleep, and the boys sitting on each side of him, holding his hands. How frightened they look, she thought, pity stirring inside her. They were so afraid of losing this man who had shown them the first kindness they had known in years.

  She smiled ruefully. They both thought that Kane could walk on water.

  "Maybe we should leave the room," D'lise said softly, closing the shutters to darken the room. "Kane needs rest now."

  "But what if he wakes up and wants somethin'?" Johnny asked in a whisper.

  "We'll hear him if he does. He'll probably sleep for a couple of hours, and in the meantime you can go back to the river and retrieve our fishing poles and the two fish you caught, and then do your chores."

  The boys agreed, though reluctantly, and left the room with dragging feet. D'lise smoothed the sheet over Kane and dropped a kiss on his cool forehead. A tightness gripped her chest. She could have lost him today. As she left the room, she tried to imagine a world without Kane in it. The thought was unendurable.

  D'lise had just started putting a light supper together when the boys returned. David's face was solemn. "It wasn't an Indian who shot Kane, D'lise. I went over the area where we saw the smoke and I found shod horse prints and boot tracks. It was a white man, but not a trapper. If you've noticed, trappers always wear moccasins."

  In the days that followed, the four of them discussed who could have shot Kane. They came up with no answers, nor did the neighbors who came to visit him. All of Piney Ridge wondered who wanted Kane Devlin dead.

  It was the fifth day of Kane's confinement when Raven appeared at the cabin door in the early afternoon. "I have come to see Devlin," she said, and rudely pushed past D'lise, making her way toward the bedroom. D'lise stood staring after the arrogant woman, her mouth fallen open.

  Kane's mouth flew open too when Raven swept into the room, her black eyes snapping. His recovery was faster than D'lise's. "What in the hell are you doin' here?" He sat up, his mouth firm and forbidding.

  "Why should I not come to visit a sick friend?"

  "Who are you tryin' to fool, Raven? You're no friend of mine. You're here to cause trouble between me and D'lise."

  "That is not true." Raven stepped closer to the bed. "I come here because I have the right."

  "And what right is that?" Kane watched her closely.

  "Because I carry your child."

  Kane looked at Raven incredulously. Then, his face and voice harsh, he thundered, "Don't give me that, woman! I was always very careful that would never happen."

  "That's right," Raven agreed, "except the night you got drunk and took me to your old cabin. You forgot to spill your seed on the bed that night. You let it come inside me."

  Staring blindly at her triumphant face, Kane wished with all his being that he could remember what had happened that night he drank himself senseless in a jealous rage. He'd swear that he hadn't brought Raven to the cabin, but she had been in bed with him the next morning, naked. Could he have made love to her, thinking she was D'lise in his drunken state?

  Back in the kitchen, D'lise had sat down, not sure what to do about the woman who had just disappeared into her bedroom with such assurance that she would be welcome. She looked up from her tightly clasped hands when a light tap sounded on the open door.

  "I thought I'd drop in and see how Kane is comin' along." Claudie Jacobs stepped into the kitchen, a covered pie tin in her hand. "I brought him an apple pie. I know he's partial to it."

  "Why thank you, Claudie." D'lise stood up. "That's kind of you."

  "I can't stay long." Claudie set the pie on the table. "I'll just go and say howdy to Kane and then be on my way."

  "Well, he—ah, has company right now," D'lise stammered.

  Claudie looked at her curiously, then asked abruptly, "Who?"

  D'lise looked away from her probing stare. "That Indian woman, Raven."

  "What?" Claudie exclaimed, scandalized. "You mean to say you let that red slut come into your home, and worse yet, let her go into your bedroom where your husband is lyin' in bed?"

  She grabbed D'lise's arm. "Come on, girl, order her out of there."

  "Oh, I don't know if I should, Claudie." D'lise hung back. "Maybe Kane doesn't mind her being there."

  "D'lise Devlin, where is your spunk? That woman has no right bein' there, and Kane has no right wantin' her there."

  "Now, Claudie, I didn't say for sure he wants her there. I said maybe he does."

  "Well, we'll just march in there and see."

  They were almost at the bedroom door when they both stopped at once. From inside the room Raven was saying, "You forgot to spill your seed on the bed that night. You let it come inside me."

  D'lise heard Claudie gasp, but she was too stunned, too heartsick to make a sound. Even her breathing stopped as she waited for Kane to deny the woman's accusation.

  Seconds ticked away to a full minute, and D'lise could stand it no longer. She stepped into the room and wished that she hadn't. Kane sat in the middle of the bed, guilt and confusion on his face. She choked back a sob, but he heard it.

  "God, D'lise," he cried, "it's not true. I know the bitch is lyin'. I know she's not carryin' my child."

  The blood roared in D'lise's ears. Raven was going to have Kane's baby. In a split second she went from painful shock to cold anger. Her blue eyes like frozen spring water, she said, "Do you, Kane? I don't think you know for sure. The uncertainty is in your eyes."

  "Well, I'm sure," Raven gloated, rubbing her stomach. "His child is growing inside me."

  Like an angry, disturbed wasp, Claudie flew across the room and slapped Raven's sneering, complacent face with all her strength. "You red slut," she gritted out, then slapped the woman again.

  Before anyone could catch their breath, she had D'lise by the arm, drawing her toward the door. "Come on, honey," she said gently. "It smells in here."

  "D
'lise, come back!" Kane's frantic voice followed them. "I'll make the bitch tell the truth."

  "Don't listen to him, D'lise. All men are liars."

  In a deep stupor, D'lise nodded, unable to think for herself. She made no demur when Claudie urged her into the buggy. As they rolled away from the little home where she had thought she would be so happy, she was unaware that Kane had hobbled out onto the porch, calling her name.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Dusk was falling as the buggy neared the village, and D'lise had recovered from her numbed state. Only pain gripped her now and she wished that she could crawl into a dark cave until it eased.

  And where and how was she to go on with her life? she wondered as her brain functioned again. She refused to be a burden to her friends, and did not want their pity. But she would get pity, she knew. Claudie was a loving, caring woman, but she was the biggest gossip in Piney Ridge. Before the sun set, everyone for miles around would know that D'lise Devlin's husband had gotten his squaw with child.

  And what of the child she was carrying? she asked herself. How unfair for it to grow up knowing that it had a half-breed brother or sister. Any child was bound to resent that fact.

  D'lise's lips firmed in a straight line. She would remain in Piney Ridge until her baby was born. Then, with Samuel's help, she would take it and move to Boston. He would give her names and places of business where she could find employment. As for the money to get her there, she would demand it from Kane. He owed her that much at least. She had no doubt that he would give it to her, out of guilt if nothing else.

  When the rutted road led into the village, D'lise turned her head and looked at Claudie's grim profile. Neither of them had uttered a word in the two-mile trip. "Where are you taking me, Claudie?"

  "Why, to the schoolhouse, of course," the skinny woman answered as if D'lise should have known all along. "Have you forgotten there's two nice rooms attached to it, all furnished, just waiting to be used? When school starts in the fall, you'll be there ready to start teachin' our young'uns again."

  D'lise was hard put not to throw her arms around her friend. She had come up with the perfect answer to her dilemma. Why hadn't she thought of it herself?

  Claudie pulled up in front of the schoolhouse, and while she looped the reins over a post, D'lise pushed open the heavy door to its living quarters.

  This time she paid more attention to the combination kitchen and family room. After all, she was going to be here for some months. She walked into the small bedroom and pressed her hands on the feather mattress. It was thickly filled and would be very comfortable. She glanced at the small table beneath a window, noting the water pitcher and matching basin. A straight-backed chair completed the furnishings. All she needed to purchase was a mirror to hang on the wall.

  "I'll get it from Samuel and tell him to put it on Kane's bill," she muttered sourly, going back into the other room.

  Claudie had let her tour the quarters alone, and D'lise smiled at her neighbor and said, "I'll never be able to thank you enough, Claudie. I don't know what I'd have done if you handn't been there when I needed someone so desperately."

  "It pleases me very much to help you, D'lise."

  "I guess good men are few in these hills," D'lise said as Claudie prepared to leave. "I know I'll never take a chance on loving one again."

  "You've got the right idea if you can make it on your own." Claudie paused at the door. "But you can probably make it, what with your education. You can teach until you're an old woman."

  Claudie left then, hurrying down the street to Samuel's store. Within the hour she would have spread the news that D'lise had left her husband and was living in back of the schoolhouse.

  Tongues would wag tonight, D'lise thought wryly, closing the door and barring it.

  Kane watched the buggy disappear into the forest, despair gripping his heart. This time he had lost D'lise for good. That bitch inside had seen to that.

  He splayed a hand over his healing wound. In his rush to catch D'lise, to beg her to stay, some of the stitches had broken and he was bleeding again. His leg was throbbing painfully, and a sweat had broken out on his forehead. Could he make it back to bed? He'd have to. He wasn't about to call the boys to help him. He hadn't the nerve yet to tell them that D'lise had left him, and why. They would look at him so reproachfully.

  Moving slowly and carefully, he limped back to the bedroom. Raven still stood where he had left her. She gave him a furtive glance and stirred uneasily at the angry, erratic pulse in his jawline. She jumped out of his reach when he lunged for her with barely controlled savagery.

  "You ugly bitch," he grated, "you've ruined my life. Get out of my sight before I choke the life out of you!"

  "But, Devlin," Raven whined, making sure she was out of his reach, "you will need me now that the palefaced one is gone. Who is going to take care of you? Who will pleasure you at night when you grow hard with need?"

  "It sure as hell won't be you." Kane moved toward her, grimacing with pain. "If I can get my hands on you, you'll never pleasure any man again."

  Kane's desire to do her harm was a fire in his eyes. Realizing it, Raven wheeled and sped through the bedroom door. She stopped in the main room long enough to taunt furiously, "I at least am able to give you a son. That is more than your delicate flower of a wife can do."

  When the cabin door slammed, Kane wearily stretched out on the bed. His lips drew down at the grim mockery of life. He had never trusted beautiful women, had always sought out the unattractive ones to put his trust in. And now, the ugliest of the lot had done him in.

  When D'lise awakened the first morning in her new home, she was disoriented. The sun should be coming through the window on her right, and Kane should be lying on her left.

  When she put out a hand to touch him and felt only an empty space, everything rushed over her like a black cloud. Kane was no longer a part of her life, would never be again. She laid a hand on her stomach. That was not quite true. There was a part of him with her. But then, he was a part of Raven also.

  She buried her face in her pillow and choking sobs shook her slender body until she wept herself dry of tears. "I'll never cry over him again," she promised herself, wiping her eyes with the edge of the pillowcase.

  D'lise rolled over on her back and stared at the ceiling. How was she to get her clothes and cat from the cabin? Scrag would be upset, wondering where she was. She hoped he hadn't been left outside all night. He was a tough little scrap, but there were many wild creatures who could kill him.

  She sat up and slid off the bed. No doubt Claudie would stop in today. She would ask her to go after her belongings and pet.

  D'lise started across the floor, and nausea gripped her. She pulled the chamber pot from under the bed, but only dry heaves twisted her stomach. She wasn't surprised. She'd had no supper, and her stomach was growling for nourishment. And naturally there was no food in her quarters. She had been too upset to think about supplies last night, and Claudie had been in too much of a hurry to spread the news about Kane's infidelity to think of anything else.

  With a ragged sigh, D'lise pulled on her dress and combed her fingers through her tumbled curls. According to the position of the sun, it must be around nine o'clock. The store would be open, and there was nothing she could do but go out and brave the questions that would shower her like a barrage of arrows. She had hoped to have a couple days to herself to lick her wounds, and to begin the healing process. But she had to eat, if only for the baby growing beneath her heart.

  She took a deep bracing breath, unbarred the door, and stepped out onto the little porch. She went no farther. A small haversack leaned against the wall, a note pinned to it. Her eyes shimmered with tears as she unfolded the paper and read, "We figured you had no supplies yet, so we have left you a few items for breakfast. Will stop in later to see how we can help you. Love, Ellen and Samuel."

  When D'lise had wiped her wet eyes, she saw the pail of water and stack of wood. Her dear fri
ends had thought of everything. Maybe she had been unwise in her choice of a husband, but she couldn't have picked better friends.

  She set the sack of groceries inside the door, then carried in an armful of wood. The small fireplace drew well, and she soon had flames shooting up the chimney. While it burned down to red coals, she sorted through the contents of the sack. She found a bag of coffee beans, a slab of bacon, a dozen eggs in their own cloth bag, a small sack of sugar, a box of salt, and a can of milk. And wrapped in a cloth was a loaf of light bread, no doubt from Ellen's kitchen, she thought with a fond smile.

  In a short time, D'lise's new home was experiencing its first aroma of brewing coffee and frying bacon.

  D'lise's spirits rose considerably after she had eaten breakfast and drunk two cups of coffee. She was sitting at the table making half-formed plans for her future when she heard the arrival of horses outside. As she rose and went to the door, she heard the unmistakable sound of squawking chickens and the mewling of a distressed cat. She yanked open the door and her eyes widened in surprise and delight. Grinning up at her stood David and Johnny. Johnny held a burlap bag in his arms, snarls and hisses coming from inside it. He shoved it into her hands.

  "That's the meanest damn cat I ever seen, D'lise," Johnny complained. "He bit me three times right through the cloth. I'd have whacked him one, but Kane said if I did, he would whack me."

  D'lise's smile died when she looked at David. His face held a mixture of reproach and confusion. She knew that he didn't like it one bit that she had left Kane. She wondered what her husband had told the boys.

  She looked away from his solemn face. "I see you've brought my hens."

  "Yeah, Kane said that you would want them, that they were like pets to you," Johnny said. "We brought your mare and cow too." He glanced around the schoolhouse area. "Hound is around here somewhere. Kane said he could look out for you as good as any man."