Love in the Wind

by Madeline Baker

  She nursed John, then rocked him for an hour, singing softly to him until he fell asleep. But her mind was in turmoil. Where was Iron Wing?

  Just after lunch, she heard a horse approaching, and she ran out onto the front porch expecting to see Iron Wing showing off. Instead, she saw Pablo Alvarado.

  “Pablo, what are you doing here?” she asked bluntly, too worried about Iron Wing’s whereabouts to be polite.

  “I have come to apologize for my scandalous behavior at the party,” Pablo said, dismounting. Tossing his horse’s reins over the hitchrack, he walked up the stairs. Removing his hat, he asked, “Will you forgive me?”

  “Yes, of course,” Katy said, willing to let bygones be bygones. She would never approve of what he had done or said, but they were friends, and there was no point in holding a grudge.

  “Will you come in?” Katy asked. “I know my mother would like to see you.”

  “Perhaps some other time.”

  “Very well,” Katy said, smiling. “I’m glad we’re friends again.”

  “So am I, Katy mia. Adios.”

  “Adios.”

  When Iron Wing finally came home, Katy ran into his arms, all thought of Pablo Alvarado’s visit forgotten.

  Iron Wing looked at Katy, a bemused expression on his face as she held him tight. “Did you miss me so much, Ka-ty?”

  “Of course, I missed you, you big dope. Don’t ever worry me like that again.”

  “Worry?” he echoed, genuinely puzzled. “Why were you worried?”

  “Because you were gone so long on that awful horse. I was sure you had been hurt or killed.”

  “He is not an awful horse, Ka-ty. He would have made a fine war horse. He is fast and strong and fearless.”

  Katy sighed, exasperated. Didn’t he understand how she worried about him, how much she depended on his love? Didn’t he know she would die without him?

  “How is my son?” Iron Wing asked, going to the baby’s bed. He grinned to see the child was awake. Lifting the boy in his arms, he swung him high in the air. John laughed happily, waving his arms and legs as his father swung him up and down, shrieking with delight when Iron Wing tossed him in the air.

  “Soon you will ride the blue,” Iron Wing told the boy. “He will carry you like the wind across the plains.”

  “Don’t you ever put my child on that demon,” Katy warned.

  “Do not listen to her,” Iron Wing whispered in his son’s ear. “She is only a woman. She knows nothing of the ways of warriors.”

  “Only a woman, am I?” Katy said in mock anger. “Ha! I know all about the ways of warriors. One warrior, anyway.”

  “Do you?” Iron Wing asked. His eyes caressed her face, then moved suggestively down her body, lingering a moment on her breasts.

  “Oh, yes,” Katy murmured, all thought of Pablo Alvarado forgotten as she swayed provocatively toward her husband. “I know all about you. I know exactly what you’re thinking right now.”

  “Do you?” Iron Wing asked huskily. Katy laughed as she glanced at the growing bulge in Iron Wing’s trousers. “Yes, indeed.” With great deliberation, she began to unfasten the tiny buttons on the bodice of her dress.

  Iron Wing swallowed hard as inch after inch of Katy’s creamy white flesh was exposed to his gaze. “Your mother is a witch,” he murmured as he laid John back in his bed. “A witch who has me completely in her power.”

  Katy smiled, her eyes smoking like blue fire as she stepped out of her dress and let it fall about her ankles. Tilting her head to one side, she slowly began to unfasten the ribbon at the neck of her chemise.

  With a groan, Iron Wing caught her in his arms and carried her to their bed. Impatiently, he removed her chemise and petticoats, loudly cursing at the extraordinary amount of clothing white women were forced to wear. That done, he removed the pins from Katy’s hair, so that it fell in a black swirl around her face and shoulders.

  “Witch,” he moaned, and made love to her, stroking, caressing, as if he could never get enough of her.

  Reveling in his touch, Katy put all her fears from her mind. Iron Wing loved her, and as long as he loved her, everything would be all right.

  In the next few weeks, Pablo Alvarado stopped frequently at the Alvarez ranch, ostensibly on matters of business. Usually he happened to drop in just at dinnertime. Naturally, Sarah invited him to dine with them. It would have been impolite to turn him away, especially since he had humbly apologized to the whole family for his conduct at the party.

  Pablo never said or did anything out of line. He treated Katy with the utmost respect, complimented her on a becoming gown, admired John. He was equally polite to Mike and Sarah, but the tension between Alvarado and Iron Wing remained unchanged. The two men were careful to stay clear of each other, wary of saying the wrong thing. Wary of making Katy angry.

  As the days went by, however, Pablo grew more and more bold. He brought Katy flowers. His compliments came more freely and grew more personal. He found numerous excuses to touch her hand, her hair.

  Katy saw nothing wrong in Pablo’s attention. They had been friends all her life and if Pablo was a little flowery in his speech, well, that was just the way he was. The way he had always been.

  Iron Wing put up with Pablo Alvarado as long as he could, careful to keep his temper in check because he knew Katy regarded the man as a good friend, almost one of the family. But one day in Mesa Blanca things came to a head.

  Katy and Iron Wing had been shopping and were about to head for home when Alvarado entered the store. Pablo was impeccably dressed as always. This day he wore a pair of tight black pants, a red shirt, and a short charro jacket stitched with fine silver thread. A black sombrero shaded his face.

  Seeing Katy, Pablo removed his hat and bowed. Then, taking her hand, he brought it to his lips. “Sweet,” he murmured, his dark brown eyes lingering on Katy’s face. “Sweeter than the finest Mexican wine.”

  Jealousy flamed through Iron Wing as Alvarado smiled at Katy. The kind words, the kiss that had lasted longer than was necessary, that smile that seemed to hint at something intimate between Alvarado and Katy, it was too much.

  “Unhand my wife,” Iron Wing said through clenched teeth.

  Pablo Alvarado looked down his nose at Iron Wing, as if seeing him for the first time and not caring for what he saw. “I beg your pardon?”

  “I said unhand my wife,” Iron Wing repeated, speaking each word slowly and distinctly.

  “Don’t be such a bore,” Pablo chided with a condescending smile. “If you’re going to live with civilized people, you must learn to behave like one.”

  “I have watched the way you look at Ka-ty,” Iron Wing said in a tone as hard as flint. “I have heard the hunger in your voice when you speak to her. I have seen the way your hand lingers on hers when you meet, the way you undress her with your eyes. I tell you now, it is enough. If you ever touch her again, I will kill you.”

  Katy had been astonished by Iron Wing’s words. Now, hearing a gasp from behind her, she was embarrassed to realize that others in the store had witnessed the scene between Iron Wing and Pablo. Turning slightly, Katy saw Daphne Rogers standing across the aisle. The girl looked horrified. A short distance away, Jake Simmons and Dave Trotter, two of the Alvarado cowhands, were lounging against a counter looking amused.

  “Iron Wing, let’s go,” Katy urged, taking his arm. “Please, let’s not cause a scene.”

  Iron Wing’s eyes bored into Alvarado’s. “Remember what I said,” he warned. Taking Katy’s arm, he led her out of the store.

  The next day, after Iron Wing had left the house, Katy rode to the Alvarado hacienda. Dismounting, she ran up the stone steps and knocked on the door.

  “Katy,” Pablo said when he saw her. “How good of you to come by. Come in, come in.”

  He held the door for her, politely took her arm and led her into the parlor, even though she knew the way.

  Closing the parlor door, Pablo moved to take Katy in his arms. �
��Katy, beloved, I knew you would come to me one day.”

  Katy frowned as she pushed his arms away. “Pablo, we have to talk. You’ve got to stop coming to the house. Iron Wing is very jealous, and I’m afraid of what he might do. I think it would be best if you stay away.”

  “You don’t mean it?”

  “I do mean it. I love Iron Wing, and I won’t let you or anyone else come between us.”

  “I’m sorry, amada mia, but I cannot believe you are serious about that Indian. Why don’t you divorce him and marry me? I know we would be happy together. It was always your mother’s wish that we marry.”

  Katy stamped her foot angrily. “Haven’t you listened to what I’ve been saying?” she demanded. “I love Iron Wing. I don’t love you. I never did.”

  “Then I will make you love me,” Pablo said firmly. Grabbing her, he began to kiss her, his mouth hot on hers.

  Katy struggled in his arms, but she was no match for his strength. He was murmuring love words to her, promising to make her forget Iron Wing, to make her love him. His tongue probed her lips, but she kept her mouth tightly shut, refusing to kiss him back.

  There was a light knock on the door. “Pablo?” called Jose Alvarado. “Are you in there?”

  Muttering an oath, Pablo released Katy. “Sí, Papa. What is it you want?”

  The door opened and the old man stepped into the parlor. “A matter of business,” he began. “Don Ortega…” His voice trailed off when he saw Katy. Her hair was tangled, her clothing mussed, and she was breathing heavily.

  Jose Alvarado glanced at his son, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

  “I hope I am not disturbing you,” the old man remarked.

  “No,” Katy said quickly. “I was just leaving.” She walked to the door, paused to look at Alvarado. “Remember what I said.” Before Pablo could reply, she smiled fondly at Jose Alvarado and bid him good day.

  Pablo Alvarado glared at his father, irritated by his untimely appearance.

  “What is going on?” Jose demanded. “Have you been bothering Katy again?”

  “I am not bothering her,” Pablo snapped. “I am going to marry her.”

  Jose Alvarado stared at his son in disbelief. “Are you crazy? From all I have heard, Katy Marie is in love with her husband.”

  “I will make her love me!”

  Jose Alvarado shook his head, his eyes filled with disgust. “Where is your honor? No man worthy of the name interferes between a man and his wife. What right do you have to try to ruin Katy’s marriage? There are many girls in Mesa Blanca who would gladly be your wife. Why don’t you marry one of them?”

  “They are nothing.”

  “Nothing! What about Angelina Fuentes?”

  “Angelina.” Pablo spat her name from his mouth. “She looks like a cow next to Katy Marie.”

  “What about Carlotte Sanchez, and Gloria Gonzales, and Carolyn Weber? Are they all cows, too?”

  “I love Katy. I will marry Katy.”

  “I am wasting my time trying to talk to you,” Jose Alvarado said, annoyed. “I tell you now, as your father, leave Katy Marie alone. She is not for you.”

  Pablo’s eyes burned as he watched his father stride out of the room and slam the door. “I will have her,” he said under his breath. “I swear it on my mother’s grave.”

  For the next few days, Pablo watched the Alvarez hacienda. Slowly, a pattern of activity emerged. Daily, Iron Wing rode the blue stud into the hills. Always, he left the ranch just after breakfast. Always, he rode alone, and did not return until shortly before noon.

  Pablo nodded with satisfaction. It would be a simple thing to ambush the Indian. Then, with Iron Wing out of the way, he would court Katy Marie. He had no doubt he would win her love. No woman had ever been able to resist him once he set out to win her.

  He struck the next day. High in the hills, he waited, hidden behind a boulder that gave him a clear view of the area below. Right on time, Iron Wing rode into sight.

  Pablo was smiling as he pulled the trigger. The bullet knocked the Indian out of the saddle. The stallion, wild-eyed, turned tail and ran down the hill. Cursing, Pablo fired after the animal, but the bullet went wide, slamming into the hillside.

  Pablo frowned as he jacked another round into the breech of the rifle. His original plan had been to get rid of both Iron Wing and the horse. He would call on Katy, offering his sympathy because Iron Wing had obviously left her and returned to his own people. Eventually, she would realize the Indian was never coming back, and she would realize it was Pablo she truly loved. They would be married and live happily ever after. He supposed he would have to take the child, too, but, in time, they could send the brat off to school somewhere and then he would have Katy all to himself…

  But there was still the Indian to be reckoned with. One more shot, to make sure he was dead. When the stud returned home, riders would come in search of the missing Indian. He would tell Katy that her husband had tried to kill him, and that he had fired in self-defense. It was actually better this way, Pablo mused. People in town had heard the Indian threaten his life.

  Iron Wing did not move, did not breathe, as he heard his attacker making his way down the hill. Through slitted eyes, he saw Pablo Alvarado coming toward him. The man was smiling as he sighted down the barrel of his rifle.

  “So long, you bastard,” Pablo sneered, and then grunted with surprise as a hand reached out and jerked him off his feet.

  With a cry, Iron Wing rolled nimbly to his feet. Grabbing the rifle from Pablo’s hands, he smashed the heavy rosewood stock into the back of Alvarado’s head. There was a sickening thud as the man’s head split open.

  Breathing heavily, Iron Wing stared at Pablo Alvarado’s inert form. With an oath, he dropped the rifle. He had killed a white man. The thought filled him with exultation and dread. What would Katy think when she learned he had killed her old friend?

  A sticky warmth dripped onto his cheek, reminding him he had been hit, and he lifted a hand to his head. The bullet had barely grazed his temple, but the wound was bleeding.

  He was wrapping his kerchief around his forehead when a trio of riders rode up mounted on horses wearing the Alvarado brand. Iron Wing looked at each face. Two of the men he recognized. They had been in Mesa Blanca the day he threatened to kill Pablo Alvarado.

  Dave Trotter, foreman of the Alvarado ranch, quickly reacted to the scene before him. “Hands up, Injun,” he growled, drawing his gun. “Jake, Pete, cover him while I check on the boss.”

  Slowly, Iron Wing raised his hands over his head while Trotter dismounted and knelt beside Alvarado’s body.

  “He’s dead,” Trotter announced curtly.

  “Let’s kill the redskin,” Jake said, cocking his pistol.

  “Ease off, Jake,” Dave Trotter ordered brusquely. “Throw me your rope. We’ll tie him up and haul him into town. Pete, you find Pablo’s horse and bring the body home.”

  Iron Wing had stood passive while the white men made their plans. Now, as Trotter moved behind him to tie his hands, he pivoted on his heel, drove his fist into the man’s face, and made a run for it.

  Pete Cox let loose a rebel yell as he touched his spurs to his horse’s flanks and gave chase. Lifting his lariat from the pommel of his saddle, he shook out a loop, sent it sailing through the air to close over Iron Wing’s neck. Expertly, he took up the slack and jerked Iron Wing off his feet.

  With a grunt, Iron Wing fell over backward as the rope pulled him off balance. Lights flashed before his eyes as his head hit the ground, hard.

  Pete Cox was grinning as he pulled his horse to a halt and vaulted from the saddle. As Iron Wing started to stand up, Cox lashed out, kicking Iron Wing in the side. Iron Wing hit his head a second time as he fell back. There were no lights this time, no stars, only a deep black void.

  When he came to, he was in the Mesa Blanca jail.

  Katy stared blankly at Sheriff Porter Smithfield. “Looks like your husband killed Pablo Alvarado in cold blood,”
the sheriff was saying. “I’ve got him locked up in town. There’ll be a trial just as soon as Judge Braxton Howard arrives.” The sheriff tipped his hat to Katy, shook hands with Michael Sommers. “Sorry I had to be the one to bring you the bad news,” Porter said, scratching his ear. “Good night, folks.”

  “Good night, Sheriff,” Mike said, seeing the lawman to the front door. “Thanks for corning.”

  Smithfield nodded. “Sometimes this job ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

  Mike shrugged, wishing the man would leave.

  “Yeah,” Smithfield muttered. “I’ve got to go out to the Alvarado place now. Dave and a couple of the boys are the ones who found the body. I’ll have to take their statements, but it sounds like an open and shut case to me. I hear the Injun threatened Pablo publicly a few weeks back.”

  “Is that right?” Sommers asked innocently.

  Smithfield nodded. “Yeah. Well, once a savage, always a savage. Too bad about Pablo, though, he was a hell of a nice guy.”

  “Yes. Well, good night, Sheriff,” Mike said firmly, and shut the door.

  Katy was still sitting on the sofa, her hands folded in her lap, her eyes staring at the floor, when Michael returned to the parlor. “It’s got to be a mistake, Katy,” Mike said. “I can’t believe Iron Wing would kill him in cold blood.”

  “They’ll hang him,” Katy said dully. “He’ll never get a fair trial, and they’ll hang him.”

  “Katy…”

  “You know it’s true!” Katy cried in despair. “He’s an Indian. No one will believe he’s innocent. No one.”

  Mike Sommers paced the floor, his brow lined with worry. Katy was right. What white man would believe Iron Wing was innocent? Damn. He wished Sarah would get home from the Randall place. He needed her. Katy needed her.

  “Mike.”

  Sommers stopped pacing. One look at Katy’s face and he hurried to take her in his arms. Great sobs racked her slender frame as she buried her face in his shoulder and began to cry.