“It happened on May seventeenth, eighteen twenty-nine, a sunny Sunday morning when we were walking to church. Halfway there, my father discovered he left his Bible behind and sent me back to get it. I ran home, got the Bible, and was on my way back when there was the most God-awful shrieks and hollering you’d ever want to hear.” Luke closed his eyes a moment, as if to block a horrible memory. “A bunch of Shawnees had been waiting in the woods. They ambushed my family. I ran, fast as I could. By the time I got there, Pa already lay dead, a hatchet in his skull and scalped. Then an Indian spied me. I had to run like hell to get away from him, but I did, and hid behind some bushes.” He paused again and cleared his throat. “I watched from behind that bush and saw my whole family get slaughtered. They got my mother next, hacked her to death and then scalped her. Same with Douglas and Emily, tomahawked to pieces and their scalps taken. Florida escaped, thank God, but only after they’d scalped her.”
“Ah, so that’s why she wears that cap all the time?”
“It’s an ugly wound. You wouldn’t want to see it.”
“Oh, Luke, how awful for you.”
“Don’t waste your sympathy on me. I’m the one who escaped all harm, remember?”
“But surely you don’t blame yourself.”
His mouth twisted into a wry smile. He remained silent.
“Why? You were only a boy of ten, much too young to—”
“I was a coward. I ran and hid instead of trying to help my family. For that I’ll never forgive myself.”
“What could you have done? I mean…”
* * * *
Callie didn’t finish because there was no use continuing. Luke spoke with such deep conviction that a few words from her wouldn’t even begin to change his mind. Her heart swelled with sympathy. “So, is that why you’ve lived by yourself all these years? Never married and had a family?”
“I like living alone. The only reason I’m here is because I owe my sister a lot. After our family was killed, she raised me by herself, in spite of the wounds she suffered.”
She touched a hand to his cheek. “I can’t even imagine how awful it must have been, seeing your family killed before your eyes.”
He leaned away from her, ever so slightly. “I don’t need your sympathy.”
The old, timid Callie would have jerked her hand back, hurt at his rejection. Not this new Callie. She bent closer and looked deep into his eyes. “Then I won’t give you any sympathy, at least not for losing your family in such a horrible way. The sympathy I have for you is because you’ve spent nearly your whole life feeling guilty for something that wasn’t your fault.”
“Really?” He clasped her wrist and pulled her hand away from where it rested on his cheek.
For a moment she thought he’d fling it back at her, but instead he turned her hand palm up and gazed upon it.
“Such a little hand. It should be serving tea, not driving a wagon halfway across the continent.”
She pulled her hand back. “You’re changing the subject.”
“Yes, I am.” A wry smile crossed his face. “Callie Whitaker, would you mind not looking into my soul?”
She caught his lightened mood. He wanted to change the subject and she’d let him, at least for now. “If you insist. I suppose you’ve had enough attention for one day, what with the Digger Indian and all.”
He peered at her intently. She caught her breath at how desirable he was with his ruggedly handsome face and its shadow of a beard, his powerful shoulders beneath his buckskin jacket. Their light conversation came to an end, replaced by something intense passing between them. “Callie.” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “How can I stay away from you?”
“Why do you want to?”
After a moment of stillness, he caught his breath. “I don’t.” His arms encircled her. He began to kiss her as he eased her to the ground. His fast breathing and the hoarseness of his voice told her this time he wasn’t going to stop. No more quick kisses. No more we can’t do this. There were so many things she ought to think of right now. Was this a sin? Would she end up like Nellie? His lips caressed her forehead, slid down her cheeks, and farther to where his tongue teased the hollow of her neck. A burning need pulsed through her, deepening as his hands slid slowly in a long caress along her body. Her whole being flooded with desire. Nothing in the world mattered except Luke making love to her.
His hands fumbled at her bodice. “Damn buttons.”
She reached to touch his fingers. “Let me help.”
All reasonable thought left her mind. Each exquisite stroke he gave her sent her to ever-higher levels of pleasure. And when at the end, she cried out, then sighed in joyous exhaustion, she could only think of how much she loved this man and how she could never let him go. He lay spent beside her. Although he’d tried to ignore her, never said he loved her, she knew in her heart he felt the same.
The harsh caw of a crow brought them back to reality. He sat up abruptly. “We better get out of here.”
“Why?” she murmured, still half in a daze from their lovemaking. “Are you afraid the bobcat might return? Or the Digger?”
“Both are long gone.” He stood and pulled her to her feet. “We need to go.”
While she straightened her dress, buttoning the buttons, common sense returned. So many good things had just happened. At last Luke had opened up. At last he’d made love to her, but what did it mean? He wasn’t a man like Coy, taking advantage of a woman for his selfish needs, yet what kind of a man was he? He hadn’t asked her to marry him, not that she expected he would. He hadn’t even said he loved her. More than ever, she realized what a complicated man he was, with feelings that ran so deep she could only begin to understand. Just now, for the briefest of moments, he revealed his innermost thoughts and let her look into his soul. Time would tell if he’d ever open up to her again.
* * * *
So this is what it’s like to love a woman. Luke could no longer deny his gut-wrenching passion for Callie Whitaker. God knows, he’d tried to push her away, but he wanted her too much. He’d been deceiving himself. Just now, when he broke his rules and took her, he knew he’d never get his fill of that beautiful woman. Those fine resolutions he made were gone. No more living alone. He would finish his obligation to Florida, keep his distance until the end of the trail and then…
He’d long since written himself off as a man without a past, without a future. That had just changed. He loved Callie Whitaker because she taught him how to live again, and for a lot of other reasons, too. When this journey ended and he could speak his mind, he’d spend the rest of his life telling her so.
Chapter 14
Callie’s joyful mood faded fast when they got back to the train. Ma glared and Pa muttered an oath under his breath when she returned the gun. Lydia complained about a terrible blister on her hand from holding the reins. Callie might have had the most thrilling moment of her life, but on the Ferguson wagon train, it was just another grueling day.
Next evening, Callie and Lydia were cleaning up after supper when a man’s angry shouting came from across the campground.
“That sounds like Orus Brown,” Lydia said.
Callie was surprised. Orus was a quiet man. She’d never heard him lose his temper.
More angry shouting followed. Lydia looked around the circle of wagons to where Magnus Ferguson’s were parked. “Sounds like Magnus called another meeting with his captains and they’re at it again.”
Callie recalled a night at the campfire when Luke had talked about dissension among members of a wagon train and how it was a common, if not an inevitable, problem. “We’ll be lucky if the men in this wagon train don’t kill each other before we get there.”
The quarreling grew louder. From around the circle, members who’d been watching began to edge toward Magnus’s campsite.
Most of the time, Callie made a conscious effort to stay away from him, but curiosity got the better of her.
“Come on, Lydia. Let’s go see what’s the matter.”
They approached Magnus’s wagons. All the leaders had gathered around. Lydia was right. They were indeed holding some sort of special meeting. Judging from the number of clenched fists, red faces, and loud voices, it was an angry meeting, getting angrier by the minute.
They joined the cluster of curious bystanders.
Jack Gowdy raised a clenched fist above his head. “We’d be crazy not to take the shortcut.”
Shouts of agreement followed. Soon the reason for the argument came clear. Most of the captains were insisting they take the Ferris Shortcut, which would cut fifty miles off their travels. Unfortunately, it wasn’t well traveled and could be treacherous, although no one knew for sure. Callie wasn’t surprised the captains wanted to take it. They were hell-bent on getting to California as fast as possible, never mind the risks. Some even talked about breaking up the company, letting people go where they wanted.
Magnus stood in a bold stance on the tongue of the wagon, his face set in its usual self-confident, slightly superior expression. He gazed upon his captains, slowly shaking his head as if they were too dumb to understand, and he, the wise one, must patiently explain. “Gentlemen, I urge caution. We have plenty of time to get to California. Therefore, I urge you to stick to the planned route and not go off on some unknown, untested shortcut. I’ve gotten you this far, have I not? You may not agree with my decisions, but who could lead you better than I?”
Someone shouted, “Luke McGraw could!” A cheer went up, accompanied by more shouts of agreement. Callie silently shook her head. These were the men who hadn’t minded leaving Luke in the woods. Now that they needed him, how their attitude had changed.
A dark look crossed Magnus’s face, quickly covered by a self-assured smile. “Stick with me, men. Have a little faith and we’ll get to California in good shape.”
A chorus of enraged No’s! arose from the crowd. Someone yelled, “We want Luke for our leader,” followed by howls of approval.
Magnus tried to speak again but catcalls drowned him out. He was definitely not winning this battle. In fact, Callie sensed the mood of the crowd turning uglier by the minute. Where would it lead? At the moment, she wouldn’t be surprised if someone produced a rope and the great leader of the wagon train was hanged high. She looked around for Luke. Surely he could help. Up to now, she hadn’t seen him, but there he was, stepping up on the wagon tongue, taking his place alongside Magnus.
Luke held his hands palms down in a calming gesture. “Quiet, everyone. Listen to me.”
The crowd quieted down immediately, showing respect for the speaker.
“This is no time to be breaking away. There’s safety in numbers. Stick with Magnus. I appreciate the thought, but I won’t be your leader.”
The crowd groaned in disappointment. Someone shouted, “It’s you we want, Luke!”
Luke placed a friendly hand on Magnus’s shoulder. “Give the man a chance. Quarreling can pull us apart. Let’s not let that happen. I say we stick with Magnus. Let’s pull together, give him the help he needs, and we’ll reach California before the snow falls, and all of us safe.”
Jack Gowdy raised his fist again. “Not if we don’t take that shortcut, we won’t! I say we split up. Those who want to take the shortcut can take it. And the rest”—he threw a contemptuous glance at Magnus—“can waste a week and get caught in the snow.”
Luke’s gaze calmly swept the crowd. “That’s not a good idea and I’ll tell you why…”
He described how foolish it would be to break up the train. In his relaxed, reasonable way, he explained there was safety in numbers, and as tempting a shortcut might be, it could be full of dangers. Better to stick with the original plan.
The angry men began to calm down. Soon heads nodded in agreement. By the time he finished, the argument was over. They wouldn’t be taking The Ferris Shortcut.
“You’ve made a good decision,” Luke said at the end. “Have faith in Magnus Ferguson. He’ll get you there.”
A chorus of boos went up. Someone yelled, “I still say we need a new leader. Let’s elect Jack Gowdy!” More cheers. The wrangling continued. Luke stuck by Magnus’s side, remaining calm and reasonable, until, in time, the crowd quieted and the captains took a vote and reluctantly agreed to continue with Magnus as their leader. Callie was weak with relief. Much as she disliked the man, this was no time to change leadership and elect a man as quick-tempered and impatient as Jack Gowdy.
The crowd broke up. Magnus quickly walked away, not saying a word to anyone.
Lydia noticed. “How rude! He should be thanking Luke instead of walking off that way.”
“I didn’t expect he would.” Callie could tell from the rigid set of Magnus’s shoulders and the abrupt manner in which he stalked away, he was in no mood to thank Luke for anything. Vain man that he was, he must be livid with anger, his pride wounded because he’d been saved from complete humiliation by a man he hated. What might he do? His vanity, along with his ruthless behavior, made him capable of anything. Luke had better be careful.
Later in the evening, all the family except Callie had gone to bed when Luke came riding by.
She smiled up at him. “Congratulations. You did well tonight.”
He brought Rascal to a halt. “There was a slight disagreement, but it’s over now.”
“Slight disagreement? I was there, but I guess you didn’t see me. It sounded like the captains were ready to string him up.”
Luke swung from his horse. “They easily could have.” He stood close, his dark eyes intent upon her. “Of course I knew you were there.”
Excitement lurched through her. She wanted to throw herself in his arms, but they stood in view of the whole camp. Anyone could be watching, and probably was. Don’t make a fool of yourself. “Magnus was lucky you stood up for him.” She was proud she kept her voice casual. “Did he ever thank you?”
“Magnus hates my guts. I won’t be getting a thanks from him anytime soon.”
“It’s because of me, isn’t it?”
“Partly.” Luke reached to touch her arm then stopped. He, too, must have realized they stood in full view of prying eyes. “Magnus thinks I’m responsible for you calling off the wedding.”
“You were, thank goodness. You kept me from making the biggest mistake of my life.”
Luke’s mouth quirked with humor. “That’s not all he hates me for. Tonight I gave him another reason.”
“Because now he’s beholden to you?”
“It’s human nature. The man he detests most in this world just saved his butt from getting tossed out. That doesn’t set well with our high and mighty colonel. His vanity’s badly wounded.”
She fought the urge to grip his arm. “You must be careful. Magnus Ferguson is a mean, vengeful man. I wouldn’t put anything past him.”
“Don’t trouble yourself. You let me worry about that.” He stood looking at her a moment. A tender expression crossed his face. “I haven’t forgotten. Good night, Callie.”
Giving her a polite touch to his hat, Luke swung back on Rascal and rode away.
Don’t trouble yourself? As if she could stop worrying.
Despite Magnus, Callie spent the next few days in a happy mood. They were traveling on an easy trail. Luke stopped by every day, always a little past dawn with Colton to help yoke the oxen. Supposedly he came to see how they were doing, but Callie knew otherwise. Luke’s eyes always sought her out, signaling he hadn’t forgotten that time in the woods. Nothing further. He had no time for casual visits, and neither did she, but even so, she often daydreamed about what might happen after they reached California. Maybe nothing, but she couldn’t bring herself to believe he would simply say good-bye at the end of the trail and head back to his lonely life in the mountains.
* * * *
Colton Wilkins spent a lot of time at their campsite. His red-faced shyness had disappeared. He bantered back and forth
with Lydia, who no longer made fun of him. As time went by, she dropped her flirty ways with all the men and had eyes only for Colton. “I think I’m in love with him,” she whispered one night to Callie after they’d gone to bed.
“That’s wonderful, but when I think of Nellie—”
Lydia’s laughter cut her off. “Do you think I’d go through what Nellie did? I may not be very bright, but I assure you, we aren’t going to eat supper before we say grace.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Maybe Lydia wasn’t so dumb after all. And maybe smarter than me. To Callie’s great relief, she’d just discovered her reckless moments with Luke hadn’t resulted in disaster. Thank God, she’d escaped Nellie’s fate, but what would she do if she and Luke were alone again? She liked to think she’d be smart enough to say no, but that would be hard because she loved him with all her heart. Often she relived those wonderful moments when she was in his arms, and he made her feel such passion that her knees grew weak just thinking about it. Now Luke’s visits were casual. For the best, of course. If he so much as beckoned with his little finger, she could never resist.
* * * *
Callie managed to avoid Magnus Ferguson until one afternoon when they’d stopped for a break. She came across him watering his horse at the bank of a small stream. He was alone. She tried to make a quick retreat before he spotted her but no such luck.
“Running away?” he called. “There’s no need, you know.”
She stopped in her tracks and turned to face him. What a strikingly handsome man he was, with his impressive height, broad smile, and wavy, blond hair. But like Ma always said, don’t judge a book by its cover. So true. Over the past few weeks, his acts of selfishness had so repulsed her she found it impossible to return his smile. “You wish to speak to me?”
He laughed offhandedly. “My dear, there’s no need to avoid me. Rest assured you have nothing to fear.”
Wagon Train Cinderella Page 20
