by Paty Jager
Startled and shocked, she started to pull back, but their tongues touched and her body responded by pushing closer to Isaac and tingling to her toes. She’d never heard of or experienced anything like this kiss.
The hand at her neck moved lower, helping her press closer. Her hands twined around his neck, allowing her to feel the solidness of Isaac’s body against hers.
He drew his face away from her and kissed her lips chastely, releasing his hold.
Alamayda realized he no longer kissed her and held her loosely. She fluttered her eyelids up and stared into Isaac’s face. “Is something wrong?” she asked.
He shook his head, but said, “Yes. I can’t keep kissing you like this.”
“Why?”
Chapter Twenty-three
Isaac peered down into Allie’s brown eyes and wished they’d married before coming on this trip. It was going to be danged hard to keep his hands and lips off her, not to mention not taking her virtue. Love had a way of blurring the areas between right and wrong.
“Why? Because I want to do more to you than kiss you. And since we aren’t married, I shouldn’t.”
Her eyes widened as she stared at him. The moment she figured out what he was talking about her cheeks looked like two ripe crab apples.
“You want to bed me?”
Her incredulous question took his mind to places it didn’t need to go right now. Allie waiting for him, with nothing on in a big bed.
“No, I don’t want to bed you, I want to make love to you.” He saw the confusion in her eyes. “Making love to a woman is a whole different thing than taking a woman to bed.”
“I don’t understand?”
The mule shifted and snorted. They needed to get a move on and set up a good camp. They could continue this conversation later.
“The mule deserves a break. I’ll put the tent on, and we’ll take this load over. I’ll set up the tent and you can settle things where you like them while I come back for the rest of the stuff.” Isaac walked over to the tent and finished folding it.
He looked up once and discovered Allie watching him. Her cheeks darkened, and she scurried to the creek to wash out the chamber pot.
He’d pretended not to know about a woman’s monthly just to see how far she’d go to tell him. He was pleased she’d trusted him with something so intimate. Knowing she still had monthly’s meant she was capable of becoming with child.
The thought of babies took him to why he’d never planned to marry. His ma died having him. He saw what losing his ma had done to his pa. There was no way he’d want to cause the death of another person due to childbirth.
Allie walked up beside him and smiled. Though this woman was the first he’d ever considered marrying. But a marriage had love making and that made babies. He shut his eyes and washed away the thoughts.
“Are you ready?” Allie asked, placing a hand on his arm.
“Yeah, let’s get this first load over to the camp.” He grabbed the mule’s lead rope and headed around the edge of the lake toward the area he’d picked for their camp.
***
Isaac returned to the old camp after unloading the mule and setting up the tent. It was easier to mull over what was happening with him and Allie when she wasn’t around. He started into the trees near the old camp and noticed something moving through the trees. Tying up the mule, he snuck toward the camp area.
He saw the back of a man moments before a twig snapped under his boot. The man bolted straight into the trees. Isaac took off at a run to try and catch up to see who it was and if he stole anything. He heard the sound of a horse running before he caught up to the interloper.
“Tarnation!” Someone knew they were here. He wandered back to the camp site. Nothing that was left behind would indicate there was a woman camping here. That was Isaac’s biggest fear. Some lonely man without scruples wandering into their camp when Isaac wasn’t around. He wouldn’t forgive himself if something happened to Allie.
He retrieved the mule and quickly loaded the remaining supplies. Without knowledge of what all Allie had purchased before, he couldn’t tell if anything had been taken.
***
Alamayda heard someone coming through the trees. The timing was right for it to be Isaac, but to be safe, she picked up the shotgun he’d left with her and waited by the tent.
The sound grew closer. Red like the shirt Isaac wore and the dark bay color of the mule could be seen moving through the trees. She still didn’t set the shotgun down until she saw Isaac’s face.
Immediately, she could tell something was wrong. His hat was pulled down, hiding half of his face and his strides were long, covering lots of ground in a short amount of time.
The brim of the hat came up as he approached the tent. He stopped in front of her.
“While I unload take a look and see if anything is missing,” he said, tying the mule to a tree.
“Why?” She didn’t like the earnestness of his voice.
“Someone was prowlin’ around our supplies when I went back. All I saw was his back. He high-tailed it out of there when he heard me.”
“Did you see him carrying anything?” she asked.
“No, but it could have been his second trip back from his horse. It was over by the crick.” He untied the ropes and set the items on the ground.
Alamayda carried the food items into the tent. They’d decided it would be a good idea to keep them in there and not out in the open. Though she wasn’t too fond of keeping food in the tent where she slept. Bears may have trouble deciding on eating their supplies or her. Isaac had countered with the bears will go for the meat that’s hanging in the tree.
She glanced over at the deer hanging from a tree limb. She’d already cut off steaks for their dinner tonight.
The mule was unloaded.
“I don’t see anything missing,” she said, as Isaac hobbled the mule.
“I must have scared him off before he found something to steal.”
Alamayda could tell there was something more bothering Isaac. “What aren’t you telling me?” she asked.
“Nothin’. At least nothin’ that I can figure out. But there was somethin’ about the man…” He shook his head. “I don’t know, maybe it was just my wishin’ I knew who it was. Knowin’ your enemy is a good thing.”
“Maybe he isn’t an enemy. Maybe he stumbled across our belongings and was wondering who we were?” She surprised herself at being such a liberal thinker. Usually, she thought the worst of everyone until they proved different.
Isaac stared at her as if he couldn’t believe what she’d said either. “Out here you can’t think of anyone you find as a friend. Most are miners looking for the same thing you are—gold. And they’ll take yours if you have it and they don’t.”
“I don’t know why I said that. It isn’t like me…” Heat flamed her cheeks and down her neck. She’d noticed since kissing Isaac, she saw things differently. Something about kissing him had changed her.
Isaac put an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry. I’ll always be close by, I promise.”
She leaned her head on his chest. “I can’t depend on you all the time. I’ve been independent for a long time.” His arm around her and his solid chest to lean her head on were two things she never thought she’d have. And two things she shouldn’t get used to. She knew how fickle men could be.
Alamayda moved out of his embrace and hauled the last of the food supplies into the tent.
Isaac followed her. “What’s this?” he asked, pointing to his bedroll on one side of the tent.
“I don’t feel right you sleeping outside.” She moved to the wall of supplies in the middle of the tent. This way we both can be inside but have privacy.”
Isaac shoved his hat back, giving her a clear view of his face. One of his eyebrows was arched. “What makes you think I want to sleep in this tent?”
Her thoughts slammed together so hard it gave her a headache. He could kiss her but didn’t want to stay in a
tent with her? He preferred sleeping out with the animals than with her. Was his talk about the bears not coming in the tent a lie?
“I-I.” She was so confused. “You kissed me twice. I thought that meant you didn’t find me revolting.” She crossed her arms. “I guess I was right about men.”
“What does that mean?” Isaac asked, stepping closer, making her tip her head slightly to gaze into his eyes.
“You’re all the same. You get what you want and move on. You kissed me twice and now you’ve had your fill and want to stay your distance.” She’d thought he wasn’t like the others but now she knew.
“You don’t know what I’m thinkin’. And it sure as hell isn’t staying my distance.”
He swept her into his arms and kissed her with more heat and steam than either time before. Alamayda’s body heated from her toes to her hair and everywhere in between. Her heart raced. She couldn’t catch enough air in her lungs. When her body settled into the kiss, his hands roamed across her back and down to her backside, cupping her buttocks and pulling her closer to his body.
This meeting of bodies, sent another volley of sensations through her body. His mouth continued to merge their two bodies at the lips and his hands pressed their bodies tight at their… Her mind caught hold of the meaning of the lower connection. She pushed on his chest and he released her.
Her breath came in gasps. Her body quivered with sensations. She wiped the back of a hand across her throbbing mouth and stared at Isaac. The heat in his eyes was exhilarating and frightening. She knew, unlike the clerk and the man who assaulted her in the school house, Isaac would never take her against her will. And at this moment, knowing how desperately he wanted her, she knew there would be a day when she would give in and feel the heat of his love making.
“That is why we shouldn’t sleep in the same tent.” Isaac stalked over, picked up his bedroll, and left the tent.
Alamayda patted her cheeks, skimmed a finger over her still heated lips, and shifted her clothes back into place. She’d now been kissed three times in two days. I should have left Kansas a long time ago.
Chapter Twenty-four
Isaac built a ring of rocks for the fire pit, adding the necessary rocks on the edges for placing pots to cook. He collected dead limbs for firewood and went about setting up the camp to make things easier for Allie. He smiled thinking about how proud she’d been showing him his bedroll in the tent. But there was no way he could sleep in the tent and get any sleep. He’d be thinking of her sleeping on the other side and not get a wink. That last kiss proved it. He’d all but devoured her.
The passion she’d responded with had tossed him over the brink of no return. If she hadn’t broke off, there was no telling how far he’d have gone before coming to his senses. He’d never wanted a woman as badly as he wanted Allie. He knew it wasn’t from lack of bedding a woman. He’d bedded a couple the last year, so it wasn’t that. His body was drawn to Allie. Had been from the beginning even when he wasn’t sure he liked her.
Now, knowing her life, he loved everything about her. And tarnation if he wasn’t thinking marriage for the first time ever. But could a marriage be consummated and not have children? He’d have to ask Haskell’s wife. She would know of any Indian remedies to keep from getting a woman with child.
Allie exited the tent with the box of cooking utensils. “Thought I should get our dinner cooking.” She placed the box next to the rock he’d placed strategically for her to sit on while cooking.
“That’s a good idea.” He wanted to ask why she’d pulled away from the kiss. But if she hadn’t, he had a feeling they’d both be sorry. Best to not ask and keep his hands to himself.
He took a seat on a log he’d also placed near the fire. “Do you have your pa’s map?”
Allie glanced at him. “Why?”
“I’ll mark it in sections. We’ll pick a section a day to cover.”
“That’s a good idea.” She stuck her hand in her trouser pocket and pulled out the folded piece of paper. “I’ll get a pencil.” Allie scurried into the tent and came back carrying a pencil.
While she cooked deer steaks and made biscuits, Isaac studied the map. Before making any section marks, he needed to look at the mountain from the lake.
“After we eat, we’ll walk to the lake. I want to get more of a look at the mountain and this map.” Isaac folded the map and handed it back to Allie.
“Can I take a bath?” she asked.
The vision of her bathing in the lake flashed in his mind. He waited a moment before answering. “You might want to wait. I know there are some hot springs in the mountains. We should come across them. I’d feel better after seeing that man this morning if you didn’t bathe in the lake.”
She didn’t hide her disappointment. He knew most women preferred to be clean. He did too. But with a man lurking around, he didn’t like the idea of her striping down and walking into the water. His heart raced at the thought.
“When do you think we’ll come across a hot spring?”
“I can’t say. I just know they are in these mountains.” He’d made use of one several years ago when he’d come through here looking for gold and a cattle ranch.
Allie stood and looked different directions into the woods. “Are we going to make a spot for relieving ourselves so we know to stay away from that area when one of us isn’t in camp?”
Isaac took the hint. He rose, grabbed a shovel leaning up against a tree, and headed into a thicker patch of underbrush. Using the shovel, he knocked down a couple of bushes and dug a hole as deep as he could get with the shovel. To help Allie find the spot, he tied his red bandana to a bush and then made a clear trail back to camp.
By the time he returned, the biscuits were done and his meal waited for him on one of the tin plates. He washed his hands in a bucket of water Allie must have retrieved from the creek that flowed to the side of their camp.
She sat on her rock, sipping from a tin cup.
“There’s a hole dug down that trail. I tied my bandana to a bush at the spot.”
“Thank you. Since we’ll be here a while it makes sense to not keep relieving ourselves where someone might…” Her comment trailed off as her cheeks darkened in color.
He found the things she thought embarrassing interesting. She told him straight forward about being in season, yet couldn’t say they might step in their own excrements.
Isaac sat on the log and Allie handed him his plate.
She had one biscuit and piece of meat on her plate while his was piled with biscuits and meat.
“Don’t you want another piece of meat?” he asked, picking one up with his fork and starting to move it toward her plate.
“No. This is enough. It will take some time to get used to eating more.” She cut the meat with a knife and slipped a bite between her lips.
Lips he’d kissed like a madman earlier. Isaac dropped his gaze to his food and started eating. Dwelling on the kiss would only make him want more and he didn’t want to take things farther than either he or Allie could handle.
Allie finished her food first. She dropped her plate and utensils in the bucket of water, wandered into the tent and back out, and headed down the path he’d made to the hole in the ground.
Isaac finished his food and waited for her to return. When it seemed like she’d been gone longer than necessary, he tossed his plate and utensils in the bucket and stood. Debating whether to check on her or call out to her, he stared at the path.
Alamayda saw Isaac peering at the path. Her cheeks heated. She’d found it hard to straddle the hole, do her business and stand while wearing the trousers. It was easier when she didn’t have to place her feet a certain distance apart.
She walked straight to the bucket of water and washed the dishes, not even looking at Isaac. Once the dishes were clean and drying on the rocks around the fire, she carried the bucket to the trees and tossed the water out.
“Ready to go for a walk?” Isaac asked.
Glancin
g over at him, she saw he held out a hand. “Yes. Where are we going?”
“To the lake. I want to reconnoiter the lake and the mountain to your pa’s drawing.” Isaac grasped her hand.
Alamayda slipped her hand out. “I want to get my sketch pad and colors.” She hurried into the tent and picked up her small bag of colors and her pad.
Back out by the fire, Isaac held out his hand to her again. She slipped her hand in his and her heart stuttered and beat faster. They walked hand in hand through the trees to the lake.
Seeing the shimmering surface of clear water, her body itched. She scratched at her neck and head. Why did seeing something that would take the dirt and grime from her body make her realize how dirty she was?
Isaac led her to a low, wide granite rock. “This looks like a good place to sit and draw.” He stood peering up the side of the mountain.
“I could draw the mountain.” She had been disappointed in her father’s map. Her drawing skills were much better than his.
“It doesn’t have to be detailed but more the shape and distinctive landmarks,” Isaac said, sitting on the rock beside her. “Does it bother you if I watch?”
“You won’t bother me,” she said, but her hand shook a little from his closeness. She drew the shape of the mountain and started adding in the rock ledges and points.
Isaac put a finger on the drawing. “There’s a stand of larger trees here.”
She nodded and added the trees. They sat on the rock, her drawing and him making comments. It was one of the more pleasant times she’d had while drawing. The act of drawing and writing had always been a solitary thing she did to calm herself or seek refuge in something that didn’t drain her of thought and energy.
“There. Is that what you wanted?” she asked, allowing Isaac to see the full finished drawing.
“Yes. You are very good at this.” He picked up the paper and studied it and the mountain. “May I?” he asked, grasping her pencil.
