A Promised Heart (Book Four of the Dream Catcher Series)

by Rita Hestand

  "Comanche? Lord, just what we need. How far ahead are they?"

  "About ten miles." Hawk told them.

  "How'd you get her out?" One of the men asked.

  "I fought the one that captured her, and managed to trade a few things for her."

  "You kill him?"

  "Yes."

  "One Injun killin' another. All over a white woman? If that don't beat all."

  "And her children." Hawk answered.

  "Well, we smelled coffee…" The thin young man said.

  "Yes, come on in and have some. Please, not too loud, my children are sleeping and they are worn out. They need to rest."

  "Where you headed," the young woman asked coming to help herself to the coffee, and handing a cup to the men. Luckily, Hawk carried cups in his bag. They were small, and two of them would have to share a cup, but they didn't seem to mind.

  "I'm going back to my home…"

  "Back. You probably ain't got a home, if they came and took you from it." The older lean man said.

  "It was burned, but she has buried children there, and wanted to go back to say goodbye." Hawk explained.

  "I'm sorry for your loss." The girl said, and then looked at Hawk. The way she looked at him it was obvious she was more than a little interested herself.

  Eve tried not to notice.

  "Mind if we camp with you tonight." She glanced up at Hawk with a big smile.

  "I guess not." Hawk offered. "Where you headed?"

  "Well, since you told us about the Comanche we'll head to Fort Concho. That's a safe enough place." The older man said.

  "Got kin there or something?" Eve asked.

  "Nope, Jilly is originally from Kansas. She was visiting her aunt here in Texas. We work for her aunt. We were taking her back. So far it's been a lot of dodging one thing or another."

  "Where does you Aunt live?" Eve asked trying to be friendly and glad for the distraction.

  "Down past Waco. We been on the trail a while."

  "Well, maybe you can get a small escort from Ft. Concho." Hawk suggested. "You might need it to get where you are going, that's Indian Territory there."

  "That's what we were thinkin'. Say, you talk good English for an Indian, how come?" The heavier set man asked.

  "Missionary school."

  They nodded.

  "Did them Comanche's hurt you ma'am?" the older one asked.

  "No, thankfully Hawk here was close by and got us out of there pretty quickly."

  "How come you know so much about the Fort?" the young man asked.

  "I used to be a scout for them." He answered.

  "Well I'm sorry, we didn't introduce ourselves," the girl looked at Hawk and extended her hand. "I'm Jilly Munroe; this here is Talc, Bud, and Jeb."

  "I'm Hawk, and this is Eve. Those are her two children, Matthew and Jane Ann."

  Jilly rested her hand in Hawks a little longer than was needed, but Eve again tried not to notice.

  "Well, we've got to get an early start in the morning, so we're going to turn in now." Hawk told them.

  They nodded.

  The men got their bedrolls and one for Jilly.

  Jilly perched herself on the log that Hawk was sitting on. Everything in her movements and gestures said she was interested in Hawk. Nevertheless, Hawk was not responding. "I've never met a real live Indian before. I mean not one without war paint on. What tribe are you with?"

  Hawk looked at her for a moment, up and down and smiled. "I'm an Arapaho."

  "Really." She smiled. "Well tell me more…"

  Bud the youngest looked at her. "It's time we all went to bed, Jilly. Get some sleep we got a lot of walkin and riding to do."

  Jilly frowned at him. "Aunt Violet did not say you could boss me around."

  "No, but she said I could." Jeb frowned at her. "Nonetheless, get to bed, girl." Jeb told her.

  She made a face, but minded them.

  Hawk made his bed away from Eve and the others.

  Eve lay down, closed her eyes, and was asleep before she knew it.

  The next morning Jilly was doing everything but rubbing up against Hawk to get his attention.

  Hawk wondered about her.

  Hawk packed up their things and tied them to his back. He glanced around. "You had enough coffee yet, folks?" He asked.

  "Shore was good. Jilly here hasn't learned to cook yet." Jeb informed them.

  "We better be moving." Hawk told Eve. The kids were up and wondering how come they had company, but Eve kept their questions down until they left.

  "Who are they Ma?"

  "Just strangers passing through." Eve answered after they were well out of sight.

  "Gosh, I never even heard them last night, I was so tired." Matthew laughed.

  Jane Ann was running a little fever. Eve told Hawk.

  Hawk stopped and looked at the child. "Get me some water from the creek." He told her.

  He brought out some Willow Bark from his medicine bag and made a tea with it. When it cooled enough for her to drink it, he fed it to her himself.

  "What is that?" Eve asked.

  "Willow Bark, good for fever." He told her, as he watched her expression.

  "I'll have to remember that."

  When she finished she still looked sleepy. "Take my pack off. I will carry her as we go."

  Eve slipped his pack off, her hands grazing him as she worked to get it off. His flesh was hot and smooth and she had to distract herself.

  "Can you carry that?" Hawk asked as she stared at the pack.

  "Of course."

  "Good, then we're on our way." Hawk smiled.

  When they stopped to eat, Matthew took a nap and Jane Ann was still asleep.

  "They are worn out." She said. "Jane Ann isn't used to walking so much."

  "Yes, Matthew walked and ran many miles with me to get the blankets and food to trade. He did not complain one time. But he was against stealing. I had to explain it was necessary." Hawk smiled. "Sometimes we must do things we don't want to do."

  "Why have you never come to our cabin and introduced yourself?" She asked softly not wanting to wake the children.

  "I was not sure how you would receive me…" He explained. "Nor your husband…" He stared into her eyes.

  She nodded. "He wouldn't have received you. I meant after he died…"

  "I wasn't sure how you would." He smiled sexily at her now. Now may I ask a question?" He looked straight at her.

  "Depends on what it's about." She said glancing at him shyly.

  "Then I will not ask. However, I must explain, that your life was in danger…"

  "I know…" She said softly. "At least I do now."

  "How do you know?" He asked curiously.

  "Sootka told me."

  He nodded, "Then you understand why it was necessary."

  She drew breath, not knowing for sure how to answer him. "Most of it…" She added and lay down by her children. "Have you saved many white women?" She asked now not looking at him.

  He smiled the kind of smile that curled around the heart. "No!"

  "Have you protected many?" She asked, propping on an elbow to look at him.

  "No!"

  "Should I ask why?"

  "No." He said more softly.

  With that admission, she shut up and merely stared. However, she couldn't stop her eyes from traveling him, nor his from traveling her. They looked upon each other differently now. Familiar and yet strangers.

  Her heart hammered against her chest.

  It was obvious they were going to have to camp now. The kids were sound asleep. She was exhausted. Before he laid his head down to sleep he opened his eyes and saw her staring. "If we run into any more Indians, you must act like my woman. It is for your safety. Do you understand?"

  "Yes…I do." She nodded and closed her eyes. "And I apologize…"

  "For what…liking it?" He smiled once more, with understanding.

  "To be honest…yes!" She said and turned over so he couldn't see he
r embarrassment.

  His words curled around her. "So did I…"

  Perhaps she was beginning to understand. His words made her heart thunder.

  Yet when he looked at her, all of her, his loins ached, and he understood. Eve Dawson was a remarkable woman.

  He put it away from him and went to sleep.

  The next morning he was up before anyone. He had tackled a wild boar and brought it back, skinned and ready to eat.

  Eve was impressed with his skill and delighted that they had more meat. They needed it to keep them all strong. The exhaustion they felt yesterday was gone as soon as they ate.

  Jane Ann went up to Hawk now and politely sat in his lap while she ate. Eve was shocked that even Jane Ann seemed to sense his protectiveness. Or was it something else? He was a father figure, even though he was not their father. He offered more than their real father ever had, even in such a short time. Hawk accepted Jane Ann into his arms, easily enough. Harold never coddled his children, not even Jane Ann. Children needed love, from both their parents, Eve had reasoned.

  Eve couldn't believe that both her children accepted Hawk so easily. Obviously, Jane Ann didn't realize he was Indian, but Matthew did.

  As her thoughts turned to her and him, she realized that his being Indian had been the last thing on her mind too when he made love to her. She blushed and he saw it.

  Dear God, he knew what she'd been thinking.

  She raised her nose to the air and tried her best not to think of that again for the rest of the day.

  They reached the burned out cabin by noon and the charred remains sickened Eve. She walked about, trying to find anything of her previous life. But nothing was left. Staring at Harold's grave, she realized it might be best this way.

  "Nothing's left of the place except the cellar and the barn." She cried the finality of it.

  He nodded. "I'm sorry. Had I been around that morning, it would never have happened."

  "How would you have fought them off? There were too many. You'd have been killed."

  "I would not fight them, just distract them."

  She stared at him as he busied himself with his pack.

  She went to the gravesites. She stared at them with tears in her eyes. Matthew followed and held her hand while she stared at her babies graves.

  "We'll see them again, Ma. When we get to heaven. I just know it."

  "Matthew, you are right. We will." She sighed fighting the tears that threatened to fall.

  "Once we leave here, no one will ever know who is buried here." She cried.

  "You will know." Hawk told her his voice was soft, caring.

  "I do not know where to go now…" She reasoned as she let a tear slip down her cheek. "My folks are buried here, my children. I feel pulled to this land, as though I'm leaving something very important behind. It tears at me to leave them here."

  "And your husband, do you regret leaving him?"

  "No…" Guilt riddled her for saying such a thing, but it was the truth, and for some reason she could not lie to Hawk. It would do no good, for he could see right through her.

  He was silent.

  "That sounds very callus of me, doesn't it?"

  Matthew continued to hold her hand, as though letting her know he understood.

  "I should not have asked."

  She shrugged.

  "I'll take you to Fort Concho." He informed her. "You'll be safe there. Colonel Mackenzie and his raiders are there, but you will be safe. It is east of here, a ways."

  "And will you stay?"

  "No, I will not."

  She grew silent for a moment, wondering what that meant to her, that he would leave and she might never see him again. However, she knew the answer; it was deep within her heart. Buried there, where it belonged. This man was only briefly in her life, and she had to remember that.

  "Why are the Comanche's here now? I thought they were on reservations." She cried out.

  "They were, and they are, but reservations are intolerable, and not home for so many. Comanche's are one tribe that cannot be forced or tied down like that. They are no mads, that live by the buffalo. Many tribes are wanderers. They are used to chasing the buffalo and moving to different parts of the country depending on the seasons. Many leave…and come back. Many never come back. To be restricted, an Indian is almost like putting them in prison."

  "Will they go back?" She asked, looking at Hawk.

  "If the soldiers find them, yes. Many will fight and die first. They would rather die that way, than go back to living like an animal in a cage. We can tell them when we reach the Fort." The way he said that sounded almost sad.

  "You don't want to tell them, do you?"

  "I was a scout for the blue coats for a few years. I fought some of my own people, because they would not go back. In '72, Colonel Mackenzie attacked a village to the north; they killed twenty-three braves and took nearly a hundred and thirty women and children prisoner. What kind of people takes women and children prisoner?"

  "Isn't it better than slaughtering them all?"

  He shrugged. "I don't know about that. Some would say no, others yes. But, no, I do not want to report it. I grew tired of it. I understood why they would not go back to the reservations, but at least they were together there and would not be slaughtered. Like you, they have tied themselves to the land. Peace is always better, but I feel for their struggles. I understand them. The Comanche will not die peacefully. They are warriors."

  Matthew lay with his arm around his sister and Eve smiled, he was growing up and becoming so protective of his little sister. It made Eve proud.

  "I can understand them not wanting to go back to the reservations. And yet, with a raid like that, I think they would be terrified to leave the reservations."

  He stared at her now, his eyes glistening.

  "The Comanche are warriors! they will always be warriors. Like a wild horse, you break it, you break their spirit."

  The silence seemed to slice the very air between them.

  "Listen…we need to talk about what happened."

  "It is late we should rest." He said flatly.

  She turned her back on him now. "I understand why you…why we…"

  "You understand?" He asked, turning to face her now.

  "Sootka told me. You were saving me from being raped…"

  "That was my intention, yes." He answered.

  "I appreciate that…" She said and started to lie down.

  "As I said, it was my intention, at first. Nevertheless, I took you, myself. It is the same result. Isn't it? And…I enjoyed the taking. We enjoyed it. Did we not?"

  "Yes," she answered breathlessly. "We did. I'm sorry…you must understand something."

  "Go on…"

  "I never…I mean…that never happened to me."

  "Now I do not understand. You were married and have two children. How could that be?" He smiled as though she were joking.

  "Never mind…" She seemed exasperated.

  She glanced at him now, unable to voice her thoughts. However, his provocative glance didn't go unnoticed.

  He turned away.

  Something in her expression held a forgiveness he hadn't expected. He stared at her as she lay down. His eyes went down her body, and he sighed. She was his, whether she knew it or not. He would not tell her. That was for her to figure out. If she wanted to, that is.

  As he lay down that night, he thought on her words. She didn't completely understand yet. But she would come to. She was not angry with him for it. She had a right to be angry, even though she wasn't. It pleased him. It also pleased him that she did not lie, for they had both made love.

  She was a strong woman, and strangely, she had become his woman! And that was something only he understood.

  Chapter Seven

  Their journey to Fort Concho was long, hot and they were nearly worn out when they reached there. Their clothes were packed down with dust, their hair uncombed, and their faces dirty. They had made many camps. As far as
the company, they seemed to enjoy it, but they were exceedingly tired now.

  The walls of the fort were Adobe, and it was rather a large fort. There were soldiers drilling, and officers walking about the property. The flag stood in the middle of the compound grandly. It was a beautiful fort.

  A few women stood out on the verandas, staring as they came in. Eve glanced at them, trying to look friendly but so tired she could hardly stand now, much less smile.

  Hawk took her to the officer in charge; Colonel Mackenzie himself came out of an office to address them.

  "Hawk, it is good to see you."

  "And you!" Hawk nodded, shaking hands with the Colonel.

  "What brings you this way; want to scout for me, again?"

  Hawk considered it, but he figured he needed to put some space between him and the lovely woman; he'd grown much too fond of. She was his now, but unaware of it, and he would put distance between them to keep it that way. For the two didn't mix. White and Indian, he told himself. She deserved some kind of happiness. He knew that they could never really be together. Although, sometimes the look in her beautiful blue eyes said differently.

  "No, but I have brought Eve Dawson and her children to safety. The Comanche had captured her. That is why she is dressed in these clothes."

  "Oh dear Lord. I am sorry for that." He apologized to her.

  "Thank you Colonel."

  "We'll get her squared away. Will you stay and take a meal with us, Hawk?" The Colonel asked.

  "I suppose I could leave in the morning." Hawk said glancing at Eve only for a second as he said it.

  "Colonel Mrs. Dawson and her children are very worn out. Perhaps a bath and some clothes might help."

  "Of course, we'll see to it immediately."

  The Colonel spoke with several officers in the hallway.

  Eve was exhausted and when they showed them to their quarters, Eve collapsed on the bed, along with Jane Ann.

  "Can I go outside?" Matthew asked.

  "All right, but don't bother the soldiers, they have duties to perform." She told him.

  "All right."

  She lay on the bed and she and Jane Ann cuddled but when she spotted the tub hanging on the wall, she proceeded to heat some water on the stove and take a bath. She bathed Jane Ann first, and got in the tub with her, putting her on her knee as she washed them both.