She launched herself into arms and allowed herself to cry. Tears she had been holding in escaped. Charlie allowed herself to weep for the child she was, the parents she lost, the life she lost, and the woman who hadn’t allowed herself to grieve. Eli held her tight, quiet and strong.
Eli wet his handkerchief and wiped Charlie’s face. Her eyes were swollen and her nose was red. She allowed him to minister to her. Soon she would take back control of herself, but for now she was complacent. The weeping had bothered him to his core. He’d rarely seen her cry, and he knew she didn’t allow herself to let tears flow easily.
Somehow the damn cat found them and wound its way around Charlie, settling in her lap. The mangy feline hissed at him when he tried to move it.
“You want some water?” He grabbed the canteen from the saddle resting on a rock nearby.
Rosie and Bug had retreated about twenty feet away and were talking quietly to each other. They had given Charlie privacy to get hold of her emotions and Eli was grateful for it. She sipped at the water and eyed him.
“You smell.”
He blinked and then smiled, pleased to see her spark back. “I was in disguise.”
“So am I. I need to get this damn dress off.” She swiped at her hair and tugged at the hat on his head. “Give me my hat back.”
He handed her the hat. “Where’s mine?” He didn’t really care about the old thing, but it was something to distract her.
“Back there. Trampled in the fight.” She shrugged. “I’m sorry about what I just did.” She fiddled with the brim of the hat.
He took her hand and kissed it. “I’m not. Your body tells you what you need. You finally listened to it.”
“Are you going to wash up? ’Cause you’re making my eyes water.” She would probably never want to talk about her feelings, but at least she wasn’t angry about crying.
“Don’t want to offend your ladyship.” He got to his feet and took off his jacket, which was heavy with mud. It could almost stand up on its own. He pulled off his shirt and Charlie sat up straighter.
“Every time I see you without a shirt, I want to touch you.”
His body flushed with heat. They weren’t alone and they were in a place anyone could see them. Still, he wanted to capture the passion in her eyes and lose himself in her body. The air between them crackled with sexual need. It had been almost two weeks since they made love. He wanted her. Here. Now.
“You’d best get that mud out of your clothes, Mr. Sylvester. That mud is caked with shit. Your trousers ain’t ever gonna smell right if you don’t get ’em clean now.” Rosie had approached, her back no longer stooped. She really was a master of disguise.
Eli shifted out of view so the older woman wouldn’t see the steel rod in his britches. He slipped off his boots and headed for the water. While the small creek wasn’t crystal clear, it would get the worst of the mud off. He waded into the foot deep water with his shirt in hand. He got to his knees and used the sand under his feet to scrub the mud away.
Charlie stood. “Where are my trousers, Bug? I am done wearing this frippery.”
Bug grinned and pulled her clothes from a bag near the horses. “You didn’t get my dress dirty, did you?”
“Fortunately I didn’t piss my drawers.” She returned the grin, the sun shining on her unbound hair, turning it into an explosion of color. Eli couldn’t imagine a more beautiful sight. “No peeking while I change or I’ll pound you.”
Bug turned his back and stared off into the distance. Charlie looked at Eli as she pulled the dress off. Her exquisite body called to him and his erection raged and howled. As soon as they found some privacy he would taste the treat his wife offered, again and again.
To his disappointment, she pulled on her shirt and trousers, followed by her boots. “Thank God. I was starting to feel like a damn girl.” Eli laughed and she sauntered over to him. “You’re looking mighty shiny in that creek.”
“You can join me.”
Her gaze followed the water as it ran down his chest. “You make a tempting offer.” Her expression changed the longer she stared at him. She drew closer, now frowning fiercely. “Eli, you’re shiny.”
“You said that. Is that a bad thing?” He squeezed the water from his shirt.
Charlie ran toward him, slogging through the water, her hands outstretched. He didn’t know what the hell she was doing, but after she realized her boots were full of creek water, she would be mighty angry.
“You’re shiny.” She ran her hands down his chest and held it out to him. “I mean really shiny!”
He looked at her hand and finally saw what she did. Gold. He was covered in tiny flecks of gold. While the other miners were panning the main creek, the smaller one held concentrated amounts.
“Holy shit.” He shook his head. “Does this mean we make a claim here?” He didn’t know if she really wanted to be there, but now that there was real gold involved, she might.
Charlie ran her finger through the flecks on her palm. “We could be rich if we did.”
“Yes, we could. It would be a lot of work, and dangerous. Those people would slit our throats for a good claim if they could.” She touched his chest, splaying her fingers on his flesh. He wanted her to do more than touch him to gather gold. “Is that what you want?”
She ran her hands down his arms and looked into his eyes, their hazel depths more beautiful than any gold. “Why did you marry me?”
At first he couldn’t reply, his mind trying to follow the abrupt change in subject. “I love you. I’ve wanted to marry you since the moment I met you.”
“I’m damaged, Eli. I can’t ever be whole.”
He cupped her face and kissed her plump lips. “You are the woman I love. I don’t know who you were before. I only know you now. You’re whole to me.”
“They did things to me. Forced me to do things to Karl while she watched. I tried to fight them, but he was too strong.” Her eyes shimmered with dark emotion. “I wanted to die.”
Agony for all she’d suffered nearly made him weep. “I wish I could kill them for you.”
“They are all dead. And now Gunther. He didn’t do anything but what his mother told him to. He never watched or was part of it, but he did nothing to stop it. I hated him.” Her chin trembled. “I hated him for doing nothing as much as I hated myself for letting it happen.”
“You were a child, a girl who was held hostage. There’s no blame at your feet.” He ran his thumbs across her cheeks.
“I had no one else to blame. It’s a wound deep inside me that won’t heal. I’m broken,” she repeated. “I’m sorry I pushed you to marry me.”
He kissed her forehead. “I’m not. We’re a team, remember? Where you go, I go. No matter where that is.”
She wrapped her arms around him and he held her tight. Tighter than ever. “I love you, Eli.”
His heart sang at the four words she’d murmured against his shoulder. He’d never thought to hear them, but he’d damn well hoped to. He kissed the side of her head. “Honey, I love you too. More than you will ever know.”
They stood there for several minutes, not speaking with words, but with their hearts. Neither of them would be perfect and they would no doubt fight and struggle at times, but they would also make love, find happiness and grow old at each other’s side. No matter where they chose to live.
“You two want to be alone?” Rosie stood with her hands on her hips, frowning.
Eli looked at Charlie. “You choose. I go where you go.”
“I want to go home, but before that I want to see Frankie and Jo.” To his relief, she smiled and kissed him. “We go together. For now and for always.”
Eli smiled. “Rosie, you and Bug need to stake a claim. I think we found your gold. Charlie and I are going home.”
The day was still young when they left Cherry Creek. The
journey there, the discovery and the experience had felt like a lifetime and not merely two weeks. She was emotionally drained, but at the same time, more at peace than she had been since she left New York so many years ago.
Facing what had happened to her had been painful, but afterwards, she had finally cried, releasing the demons that had taken up residence in her heart. Now they were gone, leaving her exhausted but free. Eli had been at her side for ten years and she hadn’t seen him, not until she saw him naked. Then her world had changed, turning again when he had told her how he felt.
She truly had been living in a cocoon of anger and agony, unwilling to come out. Eli had showed her what it meant to live. Gunther had taught her that everyone can be forgiven. He’d protected her no matter how often she expressed her hatred for him. He might have been a simple man, but he saved her life and in turn gave his own.
Charlie didn’t understand why, but perhaps she didn’t need to. Everyone had their own personal demons to exorcise. Gunther’s might have been what he did for his mother or what he didn’t do because of her. It was his struggle to overcome. Charlie hoped he found peace too and would rest easy knowing she had forgiven him.
To her surprise, granting that forgiveness had lifted a weight off her chest, one she hadn’t realized was there until it was gone. Eli’s acceptance of her as she was also lightened her heart and soul. She was going to be all right. Her life would be spent with the man who helped her be whole again.
She might not ever sing or skip like she used to, but Charlie knew she would be less angry and afraid. Eli had given her the gift of his love. The wedding ring on her finger was now part of her soul and her heart. Life could not be any better.
They were headed to Frankie’s house. Charlie had a few things to tell both her eldest sister and Jo, who lived near Frankie. She had avoided the two of them for years, only visiting at Christmas, and not every year. She owed them an apology and an explanation. Charlie was confident she would be able to finally tell them what happened to her.
After that, she and Eli would go home. Strange how she’d wanted to leave the fort since the moment she’d arrived and now she couldn’t wait to return. It was home, where she met Eli, where she grew into an adult, and where they would live. Perhaps one day they might move to someplace new, but that wouldn’t be now.
Charlie was lost in thought, her attention on the trail ahead. When the gunshot sounded, it took her a moment to recognize what it was. She turned behind her to see Volner riding at them hell for leather, a pistol pointed at her head. Dread seized her for a split second, but she was ready for the second shot. She jerked her horse to the right, and a searing pain burned across her cheek.
Charlie thought for certain Volner would kill both of them. How had the man escaped from Kenneth and the soldiers? She didn’t want to think the nice captain had been killed or injured. The sergeant should’ve been hung as a deserter on the spot at Cherry Creek. She knew better than most what happened when a rabid dog wasn’t put down when it showed signs of madness.
Before she could get her pistol from its holster, Eli turned around in his saddle, gun in hand, aimed and fired. Volner screamed and slumped sideways, falling off the saddle. Charlie pulled her gelding to a stop, her heart beating hard enough to make her ears hurt. Her husband turned back around, then pulled his horse back around toward her. His brows were slammed together in an angry V.
“He shot you. Fuck.” He reached her in seconds, his face flushed and lips in a white line.
“He shot me?” She touched her stinging cheek, surprised to see blood on her fingers.
“There’s a goddamn furrow in your cheek. Took off a few freckles and a strip of skin.” He pulled his handkerchief again and pressed it to her cheek. “I’m sorry, honey.”
She shook her head. “Sorry? I don’t know why. How could anyone ever mistake you for a man who’s only good at fixing things? You’re a fucking cowboy, Eli.” She pulled him toward her and kissed him with all the passion and love in her heart. “You saved me.”
“I reckon I did.” His expression relaxed a little. “I didn’t think of anything but killing him before he killed you.”
“You saved me,” she repeated, then kissed him again. “Thank you.”
“You won’t thank me when you see the scar. I should have shot him before he was able to get that second shot off.”
“Doesn’t matter. I have scars inside and out. One more won’t make a difference, even if stings like a bitch.” She took the handkerchief and held it to the wound. “You should check to be sure if he’s dead.”
He frowned but nodded and turned his horse around to ride toward where Volner fell. The birds sang and bees buzzed around her. Nature continued reminding her life didn’t stop even if she wanted it to. Eli reached the fallen madman and looked down intently for a few moments. He returned to her with a grim expression.
“He’s dead. Blew the back of his head clean off. And I sure as hell don’t feel guilty.”
“You shouldn’t. He was a bastard who had caused a great deal of harm to other people. You reap what you sow.” She refused to feel guilty for being glad Volner was dead.
“Do we leave him here?” Eli glanced around. “I expect scavengers would get to him.”
No matter how much she hated Volner, she didn’t want to leave his body for coyotes and vultures. It was the lady in her. Her mother would be proud Charlie had learned a few things from her.
“I suppose we can load his body on the horse he was riding.” Before she could wonder aloud where Kenneth was, the soldiers were riding toward them in two columns, the redheaded captain at the lead.
Eli held up his hands, palms out, and then pointed at the ground where Volner was. The soldiers pulled their mounts in a circle around the body. Kenneth rode to Eli and Charlie, his face a mass of cuts, with a black eye.
“What happened?” She was surprised to see the man who was always in control so flustered.
“Volner got free and escaped.” That was apparently all Kenneth was going to say about it. “He shot you?”
“A graze.” She dabbed at her cheek and winced. “Nothing serious, and I have a few remedies in my bag to treat it later.”
“Good to hear. You shot him?”
She shook her head. “No, Eli did. Damnedest thing I ever saw. He spun around in the saddle and hit Volner at a dead run.”
The captain’s brows went up toward his hairline. “Well, then, thank you for your service to the Army, Mr. Sylvester. I’m glad to see Charlotte has a husband who can take care of her.”
Eli frowned at the backhanded compliment. “There was never any doubt I would.”
Kenneth ignored the remark, which might have been a good thing. The last thing the captain needed was another fight, although a little feminine part of her preened a bit over the male posturing. “My troop and I will see to his body. He killed another of the soldiers in his escape. We’re going to bury both of them and be on our way back to Fort Laramie. If you’ve a mind to have an escort, you can wait an hour for us to do our duty.”
Charlie looked at Eli and saw the need in his eyes, one she was sure was echoed in her own. “We’re headed west to my sister Frankie’s house. Thanks for the offer, though.”
“Be careful and keep an eye on her.” Kenneth spoke to Eli, then addressed Charlie. “I thought you should know I asked Miss Flanagan if I could court her, and she agreed. If it hadn’t been for you and your husband, I never would have met her and recognized what a good woman she is.”
Charlie didn’t believe in a fort the size of Laramie, he could have missed the lovely, petite brunette, but she was glad he had found someone to court. He was a good man.
“I hope she marries you. I have a feeling she will keep you on your toes.” She grinned at him, and he tipped his hat at both of them and rode back to the soldiers.
“We should find a creek
and clean up your cheek.” Eli pointed at a group of trees on the horizon. “I expect there’s probably something—”
A meow sounded from her saddlebag, and she cursed. “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”
“Is that damn cat in your bag?” He didn’t sound mad, but amused.
“I couldn’t leave her there. She wouldn’t have survived.”
“That’s not a tragedy.”
“I like her and she likes me.” She reached back to pet the cat. “I wanted to name her Gaston.”
Her father would have laughed to know she’d named a cat after him, but she had been her father’s daughter. The sun and the moon rose over him, and when he died, it had devastated her. The cat gave her comfort, and she protected her in her own feline way.
“She doesn’t sleep with us. That’s my condition for keeping that bag of bones.” Eli had given in much quicker than she expected.
“Fine, but cats have their own minds,” she teased Eli.
“I would kick her out no matter how sharp her claws.” Eli glanced at her cheek. “Let’s go take care of that wound and maybe stop for a rest.”
She heard the undertone in his voice and happiness bubbled up inside her. Everything would work out and they would be happy. Life had truly begun for their little family.
Chapter Fifteen
Their adventure had been less than what Charlie had wanted, and ended with a disaster followed by a new beginning. Eli was delighted to return back to the fort. His mother would be glad to see them too.
Just when he thought he had Charlie figured out, she changed and he had to start all over again. Not that he would complain. It was why he loved her. She was unique and would always bring life into his world.
Volner had tried to end her life and Eli experienced intense satisfaction when he killed the man. Not because the sergeant had spent his time punching, tripping and torturing Eli at the fort, including taking perverse pleasure in calling him Fixit, but because Volner had dared to hurt Charlie, more than once. The killing of that man had burst the bubble of fury Eli had been choking on. He could take care of his wife no matter what. Of course, she had been grazed by a bullet, and that bothered him. No matter what she said, he would look at that scar and wish he could kill Volner all over again.
The Gem: The Malloy Family, Book 12 Page 16
