Kane easily lifted Cady’s limp form into his arms. He spoke through clenched jaws. “If Miss Tanner is hurt, you’ll wish you had someplace else to go.”
3
Kane carried Cady to the iron cot, placed her gently on the sheet, and sat down beside her. Bright pink color covered her cheeks, and perspiration glistened on her forehead.
He glanced over his shoulder at the boy. “Take the basin on the dresser and get me some water.” When R. J. hesitated, he glared at him. “That’s an order!”
The boy promptly did as he was told.
Kane turned back to Cady. He couldn’t think what else to do, so he unbuttoned her blouse, just to the point where her lacy chemise showed. Her chest rose and fell slowly. If anything happened to her, he’d personally discipline that pain in the ass, and he didn’t care that he was the commanding officer’s kid. When he got through with R. J. Wexler, he wouldn’t sit down for a week.
“R. J., where the hell’s that water?” he yelled.
“Coming!”
Kane took off his hat and waved it over the small, still figure, trying to get some air moving.
As soon as R. J. carried in the basin, water sloshing over the sides, and set it down beside the bed, Kane took his handkerchief, dipped it in the lukewarm water, and drew the wet rag over her face and neck. Cady moaned softly. Her long gold-tipped lashes fluttered, then lifted.
“Cady?” Kane took her cold hand between his and rubbed some warmth into it.
“What happened?” she whispered.
“You fainted.” He glanced at the boy standing beside him. “Get her some water to drink.”
He turned back as a puzzled expression puckered the smooth skin between her delicately arched brows. “Fainted? Me? Impossible. I’ve never fainted in my life.”
“You probably never opened a hardtack box with a snake in it before.”
“Snake?” Her eyes widened and she started to sit up.
Kane put his hands beneath her arms to help her. His palms brushed the sides of her breasts, and the awareness he’d felt while lifting her from the buckboard earlier fanned into flame. He automatically tamped it down. He remembered his feelings when he’d first met her. He’d managed to put them aside then; this time he wouldn’t allow himself to feel anything. Marriage had taught him that women were treacherous and dishonest. It was a mistake he wouldn’t make again.
R. J. appeared with a dipperful of water from an olla hanging outside under the ramada.
“Here’s some water.” Kane held the scoop to her mouth while she drank.
He couldn’t take his eyes from her throat. The slender column moved delicately as she swallowed. He wondered how she would taste if he touched his lips to the spot where her pulse beat so rapidly. He pushed the thought away, but not before anger took hold. It sorely tested his temper that his response to her was the same as two years ago. No, not the same. Stronger.
She stopped drinking, and a drop of water clung to her bottom lip. Her tongue darted out and licked it away. His gut tightened a notch at the unconsciously sensual movement. If he was going to avoid another mistake, he’d have to stay out of her way. Sooner or later she’d realize Fort McDowell was no place for a lone woman. She was here to teach, but she was the one who was in for a lesson. Until she learned it, he needed to steer clear of her.
She smiled sheepishly. “Thank you.”
“Feeling better?”
“Yes, thanks.” Cady stared at the stuffed snake near the foot of the bed, then at R. J., who was watching her. “I remember now.”
“Miss Tanner, ma’am, I never woulda showed you that snake if I’da known he’d scare you like that.”
“He didn’t frighten me.”
“Then why did you faint? If you don’t mind my askin’.”
“Of course I don’t mind. It was the heat.”
The kid snorted. Kane was about to tell him something about being respectful to a lady when she moved.
She slid to the side of the iron cot and her calico skirt caught beneath her hip, hiking the material above her knee. At the glimpse of her thigh, the coiled tension in his belly wound tighter.
Cady wasn’t special, he reminded himself. Any pretty woman would have caused him to react this way.
He stood and held out his hand to help her up so the skirt would cover that damned good-looking leg. She swayed slightly and his arm instantly circled her waist to steady her. With her pulled up against him, he felt the heat of her body and her soft breast pressed to his chest.
After a few seconds, Cady looked up at him. Her eyes were as green as the Virginia hills after a spring shower.
“I’m fine now. The dizziness is gone.” She stepped away and fixed her gaze on R. J. “So you think I fainted at the sight of that snake?”
The boy managed to suppress an impish grin. “No, ma’am.”
She walked over to the stuffed critter, bent down, and touched it. The slight shaking of her hand was the only sign of her nervousness, the only indication of how much courage it took for her to get that close.
“That little dizzy spell had nothing to do with this.” She carefully picked up the snake with two fingers. “I assure you, I’m just not accustomed to the heat.”
“Yes’m,” he said, his cocky expression changing to surprise as she gripped it behind the head and turned the face toward her.
“He’s quite a handsome fellow, isn’t he?” She touched one of the fangs.
“Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat, ma’am! You shouldn’t touch—”
“He can’t hurt me, Reynolds. He’s dead.” She looked at the fang again. “Isn’t this where the poison comes from?”
“Yes’m.”
“I heard a rattling sound. How—?”
R. J. stuck his hand in his pocket and produced the rattles, a two-inch-long series of horny cup-shaped rings.
She held her hand out, and the boy placed the rattles in her palm. Turning it over, she studied the segments intently. “Is it true you can tell a snake’s age by the number of rattles?”
R. J. shrugged.
Kane grinned. He couldn’t help respecting the way Cady was dealing with this hellion.
“I think you should find out. If you’re going to give him away, the least you can do is know something about him.”
“I know something about him,” Kane said.
“Oh?” Cady looked up, a spark of genuine interest lighting her green eyes.
“The rattles are sections of unshed skin. Sidewinders shed three or four times a year, and the end rattles tend to break off. So the answer is no. There’s no way to tell their age by the number of rattles.”
“Thank you, captain. That was very informative.”
“Miss Tanner, ma’am, can I have my—”
“How did you come to have this little fellow in your possession, Reynolds? Did you catch him yourself?”
“No’m.”
Kane chuckled. “Tell her, R. J.”
He shuffled his feet uncomfortably. “John Eagle caught him.”
“I see,” she said. “Is he a friend of yours?”
“No’m. He’s an Indian.”
“Does that mean you can’t be friends? It shouldn’t, you know.” She glanced at Kane and one corner of her full mouth lifted for an instant, the only sign of her amusement.
“We was friends ‘fore….” He glared at the snake in her hands. Then he crossed his arms over his chest and looked away.
“Something tells me you don’t want to talk about it. Maybe another time you’ll tell me the story of this fellow’s capture. Who stuffed him?”
“John Eagle’s father.”
“Well, I’m very anxious to meet John Eagle and his father. They sound like intelligent and skillful people.”
“Yes’m,” he mumbled. “Now can I have my snake back?”
She gasped in what Kane knew was phony surprise. “But, Reynolds, isn’t this a gift?”
“Well, ma’am—” The boy shifted from one foot to the
other.
“Because if you didn’t mean for me to keep him, I’d have to assume you put him in that hardtack box to deliberately frighten me.”
“Yes’m.” His eyes widened. “‘I mean, no’m.”
“And I can’t imagine any son of Major Wexler’s being so unchivalrous, can you?”
“No’m,” he said, looking at his boots. Kane was pretty sure R. J. had no idea what “unchivalrous” meant.
“But it would be unladylike of me to take your gift and not give you something in return.”
She placed the stuffed snake on the dresser beside the water pitcher and went to the trunk at the foot of the bed. After rummaging through it, she pulled out a book.
She walked over to the boy and held it out to him. “From the expression on your face, young man, one would think I was handing you a live snake.”
“No’m,” he said, taking the volume from her. He studied the spine. “The Adven—Adventur—”
“Adventures,” she prompted.
He looked at her, then back down at the book. “Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”
“By Mark Twain. I think you’ll like it. And I believe this makes us even,” she said, lifting an eyebrow.
“Yes’m.” He looked out the door. “As much as I’d like to stay and listen to more about this here book, I think my ma’s callin’. I gotta go now.” He started backing out of the room. “Bye, sir.”
“So long, R. J.”
“Let me know how you enjoy the book,” Cady said. “I’ll see you in school the day after tomorrow.”
When the boy was gone, Kane started to laugh. “I can’t believe it.”
“What?” she asked.
“You have R. J. Wexler running home to his ma.”
She shrugged as if it was nothing special. “Miss Agnes Biddle always said, ‘When the little scoundrels are bigger and stronger than you, outsmart them and get their attention with the unexpected.’”
He chuckled again, not just at what she’d done but at the mimicked voice of her mentor. “Apparently Miss Agnes was right. It worked on R. J.”
“Miss Agnes would also say, ‘Don’t turn your back on the scheming little darlings.’ Now I know what she meant. Somehow I think I haven’t yet seen the best of Reynolds J. Wexler’s fertile imagination.”
“He’s just high-spirited. Nothing to be concerned about.”
“Why does he dislike John Eagle?”
“The two used to be inseparable. Until the day they came back with that snake.” Kane stared thoughtfully at the door. “If he wants you to know, he’ll tell you. But don’t worry about R. J. He’s a little wild, and it takes him awhile to trust. But he wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“Or a snake?” she asked, smiling up at him.
He grinned back. “Or a snake.”
As the fresh beauty of that smiling face slammed him in the gut, his amusement faded. When she smiled, her small turned-up nose wrinkled. He could tell, if she continued to wear her little hat, that freckles would soon march across her cheeks. The beginnings of small dots were already evident. What the hell was he doing? He had things to do, responsibilities to take care of, a desk piled with government paperwork.
“I have to go. I hope you’ll be comfortable here. If there’s anything I can do—”
“There is something.”
“I’ll take care of it.” He glanced around the barren room, and his gaze came to rest on the snake perched on the dresser. He walked over and picked it up. “I’ll get rid of this for you.”
She moved beside him, took the creature from him, and stroked its body behind the head. “That’s not the something I was referring to. I’ve grown rather attached to him. I have two brothers, captain; I’m accustomed to things popping up when I least expect them. Why do you refuse to believe I fainted because of the heat? I’ll be perfectly fine.”
“Whatever you say. So if it’s not the snake, what’s the something you need?”
She bit her lip nervously. “I started to ask you something before, outside, just as Reynolds joined us.”
He frowned. “What was that?”
“If you had known I was the teacher the major had hired, what would you have done?”
“Nothing.” He shrugged. “I’m a soldier. I follow orders.” He walked to the door and set his hat low on his forehead, shading his eyes and face. “If you need anything, remember, Major Wexler told you not to hesitate to ask.”
Her mouth pulled tight. “I think we settled everything in his office. School starts day after tomorrow, nine-thirty in the morning, in the mess hall. He said you would get the word out to everyone?”
He nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you, captain. You’ve been very kind.”
“Not kind. Like I said, I was just following orders.”
“And I’ve kept you far too long. I’m sure you need to go do some ordering of your own. Don’t give me another thought.”
If only he could put her out of his mind that easily. If he had known she was the teacher the major had hired, he would have put in for a transfer. A good soldier knew when to pull back for the safety of all concerned.
“Good morning, children. I’m Miss Tanner, your new teacher. Welcome to the first day of school at Fort McDowell.”
Cady swallowed hard as she stared back at five pairs of eyes. Three girls and two boys sat on hard wooden benches behind long tables in the mess hall. The odors of beans and bacon hung in the still air. Shouted orders drifted in from the parade ground outside.
Cady studied the girls, who were neatly dressed in cotton and calico, their hair pulled back in braids or done up with ribbons. Red, sweaty faces on the boys told her they had raced across the parade ground to get to school on time. R. J. Wexler, who she suspected would do anything to avoid school, was nowhere in sight. She couldn’t teach him if he wasn’t there. But three girls and two boys waited for her to fill their heads with wisdom and knowledge. And she had no idea what in the world she was going to say to them. Why had she ever thought she could do this?
She struggled to control the butterflies in her stomach. This was her first real class, and she so wanted to do a good job. If that wasn’t enough to deal with, it was only nine-thirty in the morning and she was already tired. Between nervous tension and the heat that never went away, even during the night, she hadn’t slept well.
That shouldn’t matter, she told herself. She was a trained teacher. Miss Biddle had said Cady was one of her best students. Kane had seemed impressed with the way she’d handled young Wexler and the snake. But that had happened in the presence of a big, strong, intimidating man. The scene could have turned out differently in a classroom full of the boy’s friends. She had to admit it: She was relieved that he wasn’t among the five children staring at her.
First things first, Miss Agnes always said. She’d better learn the names of her students and stop thinking of them as strangers.
“I think we should introduce ourselves.” Cady smiled at a little blond girl on her far right. Plump, golden ringlets framed her small face. “Why don’t we start with you?”
“My name is Polly Chase.” Her light-blue eyes lowered shyly.
“How old are you, Polly?”
“Nine.”
“Thank you. Next?”
“I’m Martha Halleck,” replied a little girl with brown eyes and mahogany-colored hair in two neat braids. “I’m eleven.”
“Emily Stanton,” said the third girl, her black hair pulled back with a satin ribbon from her heart-shaped face. She was a beautiful child, with lovely dark blue eyes. “I’m twelve and my pa is the quartermaster.”
“Thank you, Emily. Next?” Cady prompted the boy sitting beside her.
“Bart Grimes.” Straight brown hair fell over his forehead and almost obscured his hazel eyes. “I’m thirteen, and you’re a lot prettier than Sergeant Cramer, ma’am.”
“That’s very kind of you, Bart.”
Cady looked at the last student, sitti
ng apart from the others. His poker-straight blue-black hair, black-as-coal eyes, and bronze skin identified him immediately as an Indian.
“And you are?” she asked.
“John Eagle.”
So this was the stalwart young man who had caught the snake and earned Reynolds J. Wexler’s undying hostility.
“How old are you, John?”
“Fourteen.”
He was two years older than Reynolds, and polite enough, but Cady sensed that he wouldn’t impart information about himself easily. She hadn’t expected to have an Indian in her class. She wondered if she should be frightened. He was bigger than she was, well on his way to manhood.
She thought about the things she’d read about Indian attacks, but in Jack’s letters he’d said only good things about the ones he’d met.
She studied John’s emotionless face and decided there was nothing to fear from John Eagle. Besides, her job was to teach; age and the color of a person’s skin were of no consequence to her.
She clasped her hands together. “All right, let’s get started. We have a lot to do. Before I can begin teaching you, I need to determine what skills you’ve already mastered.”
“Miss Tanner?” It was Bart Grimes. “John Eagle can camp out in the desert without supplies and live off the land.”
Cady bit her lip to hide her amusement. “Thank you, Bart. That’s wonderful, and perhaps John Eagle can teach us to do the same. But that isn’t exactly the kind of skill I was talking about.”
“I was afraid it wasn’t,” the youngster said.
“Why afraid?”
“You’re gonna put me back in first grade ‘cause my reading’s not so good.”
“I don’t intend to run my school that way. Why did you think I would?”
“‘Cause that’s what they did when I stayed with my ma’s folks back east. Pa moves around a lot with the army. Sometimes I go to school, most times not. I was way bigger’n all those snot-nosed little snobs.”
“I see. Although it isn’t very nice to call other people names.”
Cady sympathized with the boy. Not so very long ago, she’d also run into prejudice from narrow-minded, pretentious people.
Reckless Destiny Page 4
