LEGEND

by Jude Deveraux

  “Maybe they just saw that Gregory and his dear mother would try to do to them what they have done to you.”

  “No one has done anything to me! I’m very happy and Gregory and I are getting married because we love each other. You don’t know how wonderful he is. He has courted me like something out of a novel, with roses and champagne, concerts and plays and—”

  “But he hasn’t shelled out for a new stove, has he? And what kind of a buggy does he drive?”

  “Not that you will know anything about it, but he drives a new red Porsche that he bought last year.”

  “And what is your buggy like?”

  “A ten-year-old Ford Escort. Stop it! I didn’t get into cooking to make money. And are you saying that no man could possibly love me for myself, that if he loves me it must be for some reason other than love?”

  “I’m just saying that this man you think you love is making money off of you and that if you marry him, you’ll be stuck behind that broken stove for the rest of your life. He’ll be the big shot in the restaurant, wearing the nice clothes, glad-handing everyone, and you’ll be in the back doing the work. And you’ve already told me he has political ambitions. I’ll bet he could meet some pretty important people through your talent.”

  “Stop it,” Kady whispered. “I don’t want to hear this.”

  But Cole wouldn’t stop. “Tell me, does your wedding contract include that you own half the business?”

  She glared at him. “My wedding contract will say that we promise to love each other always.”

  Cole acted as though he hadn’t heard her. “It seems to me that he has very cleverly fixed it so that if you leave, no one will know your name. You’ve not made a name for yourself but a name for his restaurant. And you’ve made the place so great in these five years that it’s my guess if you left he’d be able to get another chef to carry on where you left off. If he buys a new stove, that is. And you would be left with no money to open your own place, and all you could do would be get a job working for another cook, and that’s hard to do once you’ve been your own boss.”

  “You’re wrong! Gregory and I are getting married. I’ll be half owner of everything.”

  “Oh? I think any sane man would do what I did and get that ring on your finger in seconds. Or is he holding on to his freedom because he has everything he could possibly want right now? For the price of an engagement ring he can keep you hanging on. And you don’t even demand a new stove!!”

  “Stop it! Stop it!” Kady shouted. Maybe the anger that raced through her was out of proportion to his questions, but he had hit too close to home, and she couldn’t forget the words of her friend Jane. Just because Jane was an accountant, she thought she had the right to ask about everyone’s finances. She was hardly off the plane before she’d asked Kady what the profits of the restaurant were and how much Kady’s share was. Jane had been appalled to find that Kady received what Jane considered an inadequate salary, was not a partner, was not sharing financially in the success that her cooking was bringing to Onions, and actually had no idea how well Onions was doing. Kady had dismissed Jane’s words with a laugh, saying she’d get it all if she married the boss’s son. “Kady, I don’t mean to be a cynic,” Jane had said, “but if you two divorced, you could be left with nothing. You would have put years of work into that restaurant, yet your home, including the contents, would be in his name because everything was purchased before you were married. If there was a divorce, you’d be left with absolutely nothing. You’d receive what you brought into the marriage, which is exactly nothing.”

  Kady had dismissed her friend’s words, but Jane had planted a seed of doubt in Kady’s head.

  “Stop it!” Kady said again to Cole, this time in a whisper as she buried her face in her hands. “I don’t want to hear any more from anyone about how I should put a price on my love for Gregory.”

  With a contrite look, Cole moved to put his arm around her. “You’re my wife, and I want to take care of you, to protect you. Don’t husbands do that in your time?”

  Kady pushed his arm off her shoulders. “You are not my husband!”

  “Yes I am,” Cole said calmly and pulled her into his arms again, this time not allowing her to pull away. “I may not be when you go back to that man; I’ll be dead then, but I most certainly am your husband now.”

  He clasped her to him tightly. “Kady, can’t I make you see that I love you? Can’t I make you see that I hate this man you say you love? I’ll say anything, do anything to discredit him. I’m sure you’re right, that he does love you with all his heart, how could he not? But can’t I at least please try to make you dislike him? Please?”

  For a few moments Kady’s head whirled with her thoughts and emotions. She’d never been one of those girls who had men trying to impress her, falling all over themselves to invite her out. She’d always been plump and shy, and she’d had very little contact with men outside a kitchen.

  “He does love me,” she said softly, her head pressed against Cole’s strong chest. “And he’d buy a new stove if I insisted, but we’re spending a lot of money on the new house and—”

  “Whose name is the house in?”

  Kady couldn’t prevent a laugh. “You are a wicked, horrible man,” she said.

  He tipped her face up to look at him. “No, I’m a man who is in love with a woman who loves another.” Gently, sweetly, he kissed her. “You should be glad your Gaylard isn’t here or I’m afraid I’d waylay him some dark night and put him out of his misery.”

  “Then they would hang you,” she said, looking up at him, feeling his soft breath on her lips. At this precise moment she couldn’t seem to remember who Gregory was.

  And it was that thought that made her push herself out of his arms. “My goodness,” she said brightly. “It’s stopped raining, so we’ll have to leave. And just when I was enjoying myself so much.”

  As Cole laughed, he made a lunge to grab Kady’s arm, but she eluded him and crawled out from under the tarp.

  “Could we go now, please?” she asked as she stared down at him, hands on hips.

  “Yes, of course,” Cole answered innocently as he began to repack. “I live only to grant your every desire.”

  Minutes later they were packed and ready to start walking, but as Cole bent to shoulder his pack, Kady was almost sure she heard the word “coward.” She thought about defending herself, but instead, she put her nose into the air and looked at the scenery as though Cole Jordan weren’t anywhere on the planet.

  Chapter 10

  AS THEY WALKED, KADY BEHIND COLE, SHE KEPT DELAYING him as she paused frequently to pick plants, examining each one, searching her memory to recall all that she’d learned in school about plants that grew wild. While training to be a chef during the day, she’d often taken courses in botany at a local university during the night. The origin of foods and eating “off the land” had always fascinated her. She also had a deep belief that for every illness on earth, there was also a cure; someone just had to find the source of that cure.

  Suddenly, she stopped walking and stared at some plants by the side of the trail: tall, some nearly six feet, with pretty, slender leaves. “Holy smokes!” she said under her breath, blinking, then shaking her head a couple of times to clear it.

  “What are you staring at?” Cole asked, coming to stand behind her and seeing nothing but everyday weeds.

  “About twenty years in a Turkish prison,” she said, eyes wide. When Cole looked at her in question, she turned to him. “Hemp,” she said. “Cannabis.” She smiled. “Ever hear of marijuana?”

  “Can’t say as I have. Is it another of your weeds that you plan to try to feed me?”

  “No, I think I’ll pass on this one.”

  Cole started walking again, with Kady following him. “Why don’t you tell me about this cannabis of yours?” he said over his shoulder. “And exactly what is it good for?”

  Laughing, Kady talked as they walked down a trail flanked by the ta
ll plants, telling Cole more than he wanted to know about the problems of the twentieth century.

  A little after sundown, when Kady could hardly see the trail in front of her, Cole put up his hand in warning. Instantly she halted and listened, but heard nothing.

  Bending, Cole whispered to her. “The ruins are just ahead, but there are people there. I want you to remain here and wait for me while I see who it is.”

  Without hesitation, Kady did as he said, slipping into the shadows behind some boulders, both packs at her feet.

  Cole adjusted the quiver of arrows on his back, holding the bow in his left hand. “Stay here and don’t come out until I return,” he said.

  “But what if it’s the men who want to hang you?”

  “If I’m stupid enough to get caught a second time, they should hang me.” When Kady gave him a look that told what she thought of that idea, he grinned wide enough for her to see his white teeth in the darkness. “Kiss me goodbye for love?” he asked.

  “Only with my fingers crossed,” she said sweetly, returning his grin.

  Cole chuckled, then slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. When he kissed her, his lips soft and just barely parted, Kady could feel herself melting against him. “Who cares who the men are?” he murmured against her lips, then pulled her closer, and kissed her cheek. “Will you miss me?”

  “I shall enjoy the peace.”

  She could hear his laugh as he slipped into the darkness.

  The minute Cole was gone, Kady looked about her, hearing the strange night sounds, and realized that when Cole was gone, she was afraid. What if something happened to him? What if those men came back? What if—

  Slipping from the boulders as silently as she could, she tiptoed down the trail, stumbling now and then over rocks and holes. Within minutes she saw light coming from around a bend, and when she was near enough, she stared in wonder at what she saw.

  Across a small ravine was a sheer mountain of rock rising high up into the dark sky. At the bottom of the rock, level with Kady, was a deep cut, and inside the natural hollow were the remains of ancient mud dwellings. In front of the old buildings, a fire glowed and three men sat around it, tin coffee cups in their hands.

  Crouching down, Kady looked across the darkness at the men and was thinking that they didn’t look very dangerous when she saw something that truly horrified her. Hanging from a wall behind them was the carcass of an eagle. When she moved from behind a tree so she could see better, she saw there were half a dozen eagle carcasses sprawled out, their huge wings lifeless.

  Kady didn’t think about what she was doing. Standing, she put her hands on her hips. “Eagles!” she said aloud, making the men look up from the fire and stare into the darkness toward her.

  Instantly, a hand clamped around Kady’s mouth and she was pulled back into deeper darkness. There was no doubt in her mind that the man holding her was Cole.

  “Why didn’t you obey me and stay where I told you to?” he growled into her ear. “No, on second thought, don’t bother to answer that. Come on, let’s go. They’re just hunters, no harm to anyone.”

  Kady didn’t move. “No harm to anyone?” she hissed up at him. “What about the eagles?” She said the last word with great feeling.

  Even in the darkness she could see Cole’s blank look. “You’re right, they’re hunters and men alone are not to be trusted. If I didn’t have you with me, I’d probably join them, but I don’t trust any man around you.”

  Ignoring the compliment, Kady glared up at him. “Are you going to just walk away from this slaughter?”

  In the dim light she could see emotions cross Cole’s face as he attempted to understand. Finally, enlightenment, then disbelief seemed to register. “Don’t tell me you have something against killing a bunch of carrion eaters like those birds?”

  Kady took a deep breath. “The eagle is the symbol of the United States. That bird—”

  “What?” Cole gasped, bending so low his nose was close to hers. “An eagle stands for our great country? Are you out of your mind? Those birds eat rotting meat. They are little better than vultures. And they are a great menace to the ranchers. They should be shot.”

  With an abrupt turn on her heel, Kady started walking down the path. There had to be a way across the ravine so she could get to the ruins. She had no idea what she was going to do or say to the men when she got there, but she’d think of something to stop the slaughter.

  Cole grabbed her by the waist, pulling her to him.

  “Release me or I’ll scream,” she hissed, struggling futilely against his strong arm.

  “If you calm down, I’ll let you go.” When she went limp, he released her, then turned her to look at him. “All right, so you don’t approve of shooting eagles so—”

  “Why did they do that? What good does it do those men to kill those magnificent birds? Even I can’t cook an eagle.”

  “Glad to hear that,” Cole said, then when Kady started to turn away, he caught her arm. “All right, it’s done now. No one can bring the birds back. The men will sell the feathers and make some money; it’s over.”

  “Oh? What about tomorrow? Will they get up tomorrow morning and kill more eagles?” She took a deep breath. “Cole, you just don’t know what has happened to the birds and animals in my time. People have built houses on most of the open land, so there are no more nesting places; they use automatic weapons on the poor creatures; they—”

  “I get the picture, but what can I do? Would you like me to pay a high price for the feathers so the men would have no more reason to hunt?”

  “The higher the price, the more birds they’ll kill. I know you can’t stop all hunters everywhere from killing them, but can’t you stop those men from their butchering? Just those three men?”

  As Cole looked down into Kady’s big, pleading eyes, he knew that he might not be able to stop the men, but he’d die trying. His mind raced with ideas of how to stop them. Put a few arrows into them? Threaten them that if they ever again killed one of those damned birds, he, Cole Jordan, would personally find each man and kill him? Even as he had the idea, he knew it would take more than one man to put a lifelong fear into those hunters. Money had a way of making men dare anything.

  As another idea came to Cole, he began to smile, smile in a way that made Kady know that he meant to do something that wasn’t exactly fair and square. Maybe wasn’t even legal.

  “You’re not going to hurt anyone, are you?” she whispered. “You wouldn’t use those arrows of yours to—”

  “I want you to swear to me that you will sit right here, be quiet, and watch. Nothing more. You won’t get involved. Promise?”

  “I can’t make a promise like that. What if those men try to shoot you?”

  He tucked a curl behind her ear. “Would you care?”

  “Of course. If you were dead, who would help me find the petroglyphs so I can get back to the man I love?” Kady knew she was reminding herself of her great love because right now she couldn’t seem to remember any world except this one. And maybe she couldn’t remember any man except this one.

  A little frown crossed Cole’s face as he took her hands and squeezed them. “Remember that you need me. Please remember that if you make any noise or sudden moves, the men will shoot me. If I were gone, then who would be here to protect you?”

  “Oh,” Kady said, eyes wide; then from the look on Cole’s face, she thought he might be teasing her. Or maybe she was afraid because she’d watched too many westerns where everyone was shooting everyone else. “What are you going to do?”

  “Something groovy,” he said, eyes sparkling.

  For a moment Kady looked at him in consternation before she remembered her overly long lecture on the origins of illegal drugs in America. Maybe she had become a bit sidetracked in talking about slang and white go-go boots and crack and rap. Before she could make a reply, he kissed her mouth quickly and sweetly, then slipped silently into the darkness.

  Se
ttling herself as though she were in the audience at an amphitheater, she watched the men across the ravine prepare themselves for the night. Yawning, Kady couldn’t help but envy them and wished she could cuddle up with Cole and—No! she told herself. She wanted to go back to her own bed in Virginia, and tomorrow she’d see Gregory. She did not want to snuggle in a sleeping bag with her husband—with Cole, she corrected herself. She wanted Gregory, not Cole.

  A movement across the ravine caught Kady’s attention, making her sit upright. But what she saw caused her to rub her eyes. A nearly naked man with skin the exact color of the mud buildings behind him silently moved in front of the now sleeping men and tossed a bundle of grass on the fire. Then, removing a pair of eagle wings from where they hung on the walls, he began to fan the flames, making the smoke envelop the sleeping men.

  With eyes wide, Kady watched, knowing that the weeds on the fire were stalks of wild marijuana. He certainly does catch on quickly, she thought with no little disgust.

  As tendrils of the smoke wafted across the ravine, Kady stretched out on her stomach and watched as Cole moved about in the light. He wore nothing but what looked to be a loincloth, his big, muscular torso almost totally naked, only the mud drying on his skin covering him.

  Whether she liked him or not, whether she wanted to be with him or not, she had to admire the beauty of him. He’s my husband! she suddenly thought, then told herself to get that idea out of her head. Husband of convenience only. Gregory was her real husband—or at least soon would be.

  “Whatever is he doing now?” Kady whispered aloud as she watched Cole take down the wings and bodies of the poor, murdered eagles, then disappear behind the old walls. It seemed hours that he was gone, and for a while she watched the men, sleeping in their cloud of drugged smoke, but then Kady also started to drift into sleep. Maybe the smoke was reaching her as well as the men.

  She awoke to an unearthly screech, coming awake so quickly that she bumped her head on a low tree branch as she looked across into the light. An apparition had leaped from the old ruins, and for a moment, Kady’s heart beat so wildly that she didn’t realize that the creature was Cole.