The tent flap suddenly moved, and bright light streamed into the interior. Evelyn shrank back, and held her breath. She clutched the cover tighter to her body. To her surprise, the head of a young girl with long dark hair appeared through the opening. She stared at Evelyn, and her lips widened in a smile. She turned her head and yelled over her shoulder, “Mama, she’s awake.”
The girl stooped over and stepped into the tent, letting the flap fall closed behind her.
“We were wondering when you were going to wake up,” she said, and sat on the ground next to Evelyn. Her bright smile hadn’t faded. She reached a hand up and held her palm to Evelyn’s forehead. “Your fever’s gone, too. Mama was hoping the willow bark tea would do some good. She didn’t know why you had a fever, but she’ll be glad to see you’re better now.”
Evelyn stared at the girl. She looked well groomed, her dark hair braided in one long rope down her back. She wore clean buckskin britches and a blue cotton shirt, and almost reminded Evelyn of an Indian maiden. Her startling blue eyes, however, were a sure indication that she was white. A soft hint of lavender drifted to Evelyn’s nose. What she wouldn’t give for a bath with some soap.
“I’m Sarah,” the girl continued. “What’s your name?”
Evelyn cleared her throat. “Evelyn Lewis,” she said, her voice raspy. Her throat felt as dry as a parched cornfield in summer. She clutched the fur covering tightly to her chest.
“Oh, here are your clothes,” Sarah said as if she just remembered something, and reached into the large pouch that hung from her shoulder. “I washed them for you, and mended a few of the holes.”
Relief swept over Evelyn as the girl held out her britches and shirt.
“Where am I?” Evelyn asked, and licked at her dried lips. Who was this young white girl?
“You’re in my mother’s medical tent,” Sarah answered. “She’s a healer who takes care of all the injured and sick trappers that come to rendezvous each summer. Some of those dumb men just don’t know how to stay out of trouble. They always have to prove how tough they are, and most of the time they end up getting shot or worse. It’s a good thing Alex brought you here. You had a very high fever.”
Evelyn’s heart jumped at the sound of his name. Alex had brought her to someone for care?
“How long have I been here?”
“Since this morning. You slept almost the entire day. Mama had to remove your clothes and bathe you in cool water to try and bring your temperature down. She made you drink willow bark tea.”
Evelyn’s eyebrows furrowed, and she shook her head slightly. The thought that another woman had undressed her gave her a small sense of comfort. Perhaps she hadn’t been violated after all.
“You don’t remember any of it?” Sarah asked.
“All I remember is that . . . that brute carrying me off, after . . .” She left the rest unspoken, and hung her head. An overwhelming feeling of fear and loneliness swept over her. She’d never been away from her family’s farm in all her nineteen years, and now she found herself thrust into a brutal world she didn’t understand, amidst people she didn’t know. Worst of all, she was now the property of the very man who had slaughtered her family.
Sarah laughed, bringing Evelyn’s head up. What did the girl find so amusing?
“Brute?” she echoed. “Alex can be a little gruff, I guess.” Sarah paused to think. “You’re lucky, though,” she continued, and stared at Evelyn with a serious look in her eyes. “I don’t know why Walker would up and trade a half-year’s worth of pelts for you. I’ve never heard of anyone paying such a high bride price. He’s always been a loner, and unless you count Whispering Waters, he hasn’t made it known that he had any interest in a wife. He’ll treat you far better than most of those other men, I’d imagine.”
Evelyn shifted her weight on the furs. This girl spoke of Alex as if he were a fond friend. “Lucky?” she spat. “You think I’m lucky because some uncivilized barbarian bartered for me? Lucky that I watched my brother be murdered, and was then brought here against my will?”
Sarah’s eyes widened. “No.” She shook her head. “I didn’t mean it like that.” She touched a tentative hand to Evelyn’s arm. Evelyn jerked away.
“Please . . . please grant me some privacy so I can get dressed,” she whispered. A painful lump formed in her throat, but she couldn’t swallow.
“All right,” Sarah said softly. “I’ll go see what’s keeping my mother. She’ll want to check on you to make sure you’re better.” She scrambled to her feet and turned to leave the tent. Just before she reached the opening, she glanced back at Evelyn.
“You don’t have to stay with him, you know. It’s not as if he owns you, but it might be safer for you, having a man to protect you.” With those words, she scrambled through the tent’s opening and disappeared from view.
Evelyn stared after the girl. What did she mean by Alex didn’t own her? He had bartered for her. Was she simply free to go? Her spirits lifted with that thought, then quickly plummeted again.
Where are you going to go, Evie? You’re in the middle of nowhere. You could never hope to find your way home on your own.
****
Evelyn dressed quickly, inhaling the fresh scent on her clothes. She ran her fingers through her hair, holding a handful of amber strands in front of her to inspect. To her utmost surprise, her hair was clean and soft, no longer greasy and matted. Other than wearing her brother’s britches and shirt, she felt almost normal again.
“Why on earth did you wait so long?” A woman’s stern scolding from just outside the tent reached Evelyn’s ears. “You could have told me about this when you brought that poor girl to me. But I guess those few hours don’t matter anymore, either. I swear, Alex, you are about as smart as a bear with its paw in a beehive.”
A jolt of adrenaline washed over Evelyn at hearing his name. He must be right outside. Would he seek her out? She still didn’t quite believe Sarah when she said she was free to go.
“I didn’t feel inclined to head up to the Yellowstone for a little buckshot under my skin, Aimee.” Alex’s deep, rich voice sent a shiver up Evelyn’s spine. It was not the same voice she remembered from years ago, but then she’d never heard Alex talk a lot except when he and Henry thought they were alone.
“Well, it would have been much easier to get this slug out of you when this was still fresh. Now I have to make an incision and open that wound all over again. Sarah, go tell Matt or Zach to fetch me a bottle of whiskey.”
“I can get it, Mama.” Evelyn recognized Sarah’s voice.
“You’ll do no such thing, young lady.” The woman’s voice replied heatedly.
“You know I ain’t gonna drink that stuff, Aimee, so there’s no need for whiskey. Just cut me open already and get rid of the damn buckshot.” Alex’s voice hardened noticeably.
“You stupid fool. I wasn’t going to make you drink the whiskey. I need the alcohol to disinfect your wound. And since you’re being so rude, I won’t feel sorry for you when it stings.” Although the woman’s voice held no hint of warmth, Evelyn had the distinct impression that the banter between her and Alex was lighthearted and friendly.
“You still use them funny words that no one understands,” Alex replied, and the woman named Aimee laughed.
Overcome by curiosity, Evelyn sank to her knees by the tent opening. Slowly, she lifted the flap to the side, just enough to peek out. Several yards away, a fire blazed and crackled, and Evelyn noticed the handle of a knife sticking out from the flames. To the right, a woman sat bent over a man lying on the ground. Evelyn’s eyes rested on the woman’s long golden hair. Dressed in similar clothes as Sarah, this woman’s appearance was even more out of place here than her young daughter.
“Does Daniel know you’ve been shot in the chest?” Aimee asked.
“Ain’t seen him yet,” came the gruff reply.
“What happened? Did you annoy some Blackfoot warriors too much, or did you get under the skin of another trapp
er?” Aimee taunted.
“I don’t know who shot me,” Alex scoffed. “It happened while I was in St. Louis some months back.”
Evelyn inhaled a deep breath. Charlie had shot Alex when he ran from her home after killing her parents. He’d fled into the woods. Any doubt she ever had that Alex had killed her folks vanished instantly. What she was hearing confirmed Charlie’s story. He might not be the man she wanted for a husband, but surely he wouldn’t simply shoot a man for no reason.
She moved the tent flap back a few more inches to see better. Alex lay on a blanket on the ground. The woman kneeling over him obstructed most of Evelyn’s view, but muscular arms reached up and under his head. His flat, well defined abdomen moved up and down in quick rhythmic succession like someone who was out of breath from exertion.
“Hold still, Alex, or I’ll stake you to the ground,” Aimee said. She reached for the glowing knife in the fire. “Where’s Sarah with that alcohol?” She looked up just as Sarah and two youths who looked identical emerged from around another tent.
“Here’s your whiskey, Mama.” One of the boys handed her the bottle. “Which one of us needs to chaperone Sarah now? There’s a horse race about to start, and we want to go watch.”
“You can both go, Matt,” Aimee said, taking the bottle from him. “Sarah can stay here with me and help.”
“I want to go to see the race, too,” Sarah protested, and held her hands to her hips.
The boy named Matt boxed his brother in the arm and nodded, and both of them took off running.
“Come back here,” Sarah called. Then she glared down at her mother. “That’s not fair. Why do they get to have all the fun?”
“Sarah, right now I need you to quit your complaining and help me. Clean that area right here on Alex’s chest with the alcohol so I can make an incision.”
The young girl huffed in protest, but obeyed her mother. Despite everything, Evelyn couldn’t help but smile. Sarah reminded her of herself when she was younger. She’d often defied her mother and gone off to see what the men were doing. It always seemed that the women were left to do the tedious chores while the men went off to have fun.
Silently, Evelyn observed what was going on a few yards from the tent. The woman’s back was turned to her, so she couldn’t see exactly what Aimee was doing, but when Sarah stuck a branch near Alex’s head and told him, “Here, bite down on this so you don’t scream like a baby,” Evelyn had no doubt that the healer woman was cutting into Alex’s flesh. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine. Silently she prayed that the knife would inflict all the pain it possibly could. This man did not deserve her sympathy.
“There. That wasn’t too deep,” Aimee said after a few minutes. “Let me sew this up, and you’ll be good as new. Like a seamstress, Aimee’s arm moved up and down, a needle and thread in her hand. With a quick snip of a pair of scissors, she cut through the ends of the sting. Had she actually sewn Alex’s skin back together?
Sudden anger coursed through Evelyn. Why was she hiding out, watching this woman care for the man who had shattered her world to pieces? Her eyes fell to the knife lying on the ground next to Aimee. Without contemplating her actions, Evelyn pushed through the tent opening and lunged for the weapon. With trembling hands, she held it in a tight grip and took a step back. Aimee jumped to her feet, and so did Alex. Blood covered his chest.
“Why do you help him? You should have driven this knife through his black heart,” Evelyn shouted, her wide eyes darting from Aimee to Sarah.
Aimee held one hand out in front of her, the other motioned for Sarah to stay back. She shot a quick look at Alex, whose eyes briefly widened in surprise before his brows furrowed. He took a step toward her, and Evelyn thrust the knife out in front of her. Quicker than she could blink, Alex’s arm snaked out and his hand wrapped around Evelyn’s wrist. With a soft cry of surprise, she dropped her weapon.
“Hello, Evie,” Alex said slowly. “I figured this would be the sort of greeting I would receive. You certainly didn’t disappoint.”
She pulled away from him, but his hand of steel held tightly to her wrist. His grip intensified, and his cold stare sent a wave of dread down her spine.
“You vile, evil monster,” she spat. “You killed my parents. After all they did for you, why did you kill them?” She swung back with her free hand, then brought it forward in an attempt to strike his face, but Alex’s reflexes were faster. He grabbed her other wrist, then pinned both her arms to her sides, stepping closer to her. His bushy face was mere inches from hers. Evelyn stared up into his deep blue eyes, her heart pounding fiercely in her chest.
“Let’s get one thing straight, Evie,” he said in a low, menacing voice. “I don’t know who gave you or Henry the idea that I killed your folks, but whoever is accusing me of that is a liar.”
“Release me, you savage.” Evelyn gritted her teeth. The more she squirmed, the tighter he squeezed her wrists until his hold was almost painful.
“Alex, let her go,” Aimee said softly. She stepped to his side and placed her hand on his arm. “You’re hurting her.”
As if Aimee had slapped him, Alex’s head whipped around to look at the blond woman, breaking his intense eye contact with Evelyn. Then he glared at his hands gripping her wrists. He released her as if she’d burned him and took several steps back. His eyes wide with surprise, he cursed under his breath, and turned toward the fire. His hands balled into tight fists at his side.
Aimee reached out and placed her arm around Evelyn’s shoulders. Too stunned to move, she stood there for a moment and stared at Alex’s back. Every muscle along his spine tensed.
“Come on, Miss Lewis,” Aimee said in a soothing voice. “I see there are some misunderstandings here, but I know we can work them out. Let’s get you back to the tent. You’ve been through quite an ordeal and need to rest.”
Her mind reeled with what Alex had said, but Evelyn allowed the woman to guide her back toward the tent. She rubbed at her sore wrists, and cast one final look in Alex’s direction. He stared back at her, his eyes filled with anguish and remorse so intense it reached out and gripped her around the heart.
Chapter 6
Alex sat along the banks of a slow-moving creek that meandered through the valley some distance from the main camp. Savoring the solitude, he absently tossed rocks into the water, the deep plopping sound amplified in the stillness of the morning. Fog hovered over the tall meadow grass, giving the entire area an almost ghost-like appearance. In the distance, the jagged snow-capped mountain peaks of the Teewinots stretched toward the sky. The rising sun cast a golden coppery glow across the tops of the three tallest peaks, the lights and shadows changing from one minute to the next. Gold and copper, just like Evie’s hair when the sun touched it just right.
Alex hurled a large stone far out and over the water, the projectile landing somewhere in the grass on the opposite bank. Clenching his jaw, he pushed himself up off the ground. The wound on his chest throbbed dully. He welcomed the pain.
Let her go, Alex. You’re hurting her. Aimee’s words from the previous day repeated over and over in his mind. How much pain would he have inflicted on Evie if Aimee hadn’t stepped in to stop him?
You’re no better than that bastard who fathered you.
Alex cursed under his breath. He’d left his family, or what little there had ever been of one, behind six years ago, and for good reason. His old man was a drunkard who violently beat his mother. Even though he could never prove it, Alex knew without a doubt that his father had killed his mother in a drunken rage. Many times, Alex had walked away with bruised ribs and black eyes while trying to defend his mother. Back then, he’d been too young and scared to do anything other than absorb the blows that were meant for her.
He tried to push the painful memories of his childhood aside. He should have just killed the bastard when he had the chance. Instead, he’d left St. Charles to make a new life for himself in the wilderness. His mother had always begged him not to bec
ome like his father whenever Alex spoke of seeking revenge. After her death, he’d respected her wishes and simply walked away. He’d found his escape by joining the Rocky Mountain Fur Company.
Alex clenched his jaw and kicked at some dried clumps of dirt in the grass. He’d acted no differently with Evie than how his father had always treated his mother. He could have easily broken her arms. A shudder passed through him. Determined not to become like his bastard father, Alex had never touched a drop of alcohol, even though it was available in abundance among his comrades. Last evening had been proof that he was just like the old man after all when his temper got the better of him. Violence had been the old man’s answer to everything.
Alex scoffed. The life he led now was more violent than anything he could possibly encounter in St. Louis or St. Charles. In order to survive in the wilderness, he had learned how to kill, and he had learned it quite well. Be quicker and more brutal than your opponent. That was the law of survival in these untamed mountains. But to lose control so quickly with a defenseless woman? A woman he wanted to protect, and who stirred foreign feelings deep within him; one who planted thoughts of a home and family in his head. All the things he’d never considered before.
A loud plop followed by a splash in the water several feet from where he stood startled him from his thoughts. Alex wheeled around, his knife drawn. He relaxed instantly and sheathed his weapon. Sarah Osborne strode toward him with a determined look on her girlish face. She tossed another rock in his direction into the water. Was there something going on with Evie? She wouldn’t try and attack Aimee, would she?
“Walker,” Sarah called.
She’d grown since he’d last seen her more than a year ago. She had to be about the same age now as Evie had been when he left St. Charles to start his new life. Long-legged like a young deer, Sarah walked with the proud confidence of her father.
Teton Sunrise (Teton Romance Trilogy) Page 5
