“Thank you, Hester.” Susannah took the plate and silverware the other woman offered her. “I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you for your kindness.”
Hester dismissed her thanks with a wave of her hand. “No need to thank me. I’m glad to be able to do it.”
“Well, I just want you to know much I appreciate it.”
“Hush now, I ain’t done anything more than anybody else would have done.”
“Well, where I come from, people aren’t quite so neighborly,” Susannah said, thinking of home where people hid behind locked doors and carried automatic weapons.
“I found another dress you might be able to wear,” Hester said. “Of course, we’ll have to take it in, and it’s a little out of style, but I think the color will suit you. You can try it on later.”
“Thank you,” Susannah said, thinking she had never known anyone as generous as Hester Micklin.
“You’d best get that down to your man while it’s still hot,” Hester said, smiling.
With a nod, Susannah left the house.
Thoughts of Hester fled her mind as she neared the barn.
She found Black Wind inside. He was standing by the stallion’s stall, lightly stroking the horse’s neck.
She shivered, felt her cheeks flame as she remembered Black Wind’s hands moving over her back and shoulders, cupping her buttocks, drawing her up against him.
Long and lean, with copper-colored skin and long black hair, he was by far the most handsome man she had ever seen. She watched the play of muscles in his back and shoulders as he scratched the stallion behind the ears, felt her heartbeat speed up at the sound of his voice speaking words she did not understand.
She might have stood there forever, admiring the way he moved, the long clean lines of his back, if he hadn’t turned to face her.
Their gazes met and held and it was as if sparks flew between them. She saw the yearning in his eyes and feared he would read the same wanting in her own.
“I brought you something you to eat,” she said, thrusting the platter toward him.
He took the plate from her hands, his gaze never leaving her face.
She looked into his eyes, eyes as deep and black as a midnight sea, and felt herself drowning in their depths. “Eat it while it’s hot,” she said, and practically ran out of the barn to keep from throwing herself into his arms.
Chapter Nine
She hid out up at the house the rest of the day. Hester went through an old trunk, pulling out a couple of dresses she had long ago outgrown, and the two of them spent the afternoon altering them to fit Susannah. Sewing had never been high on her list of favorite things to do, but Hester made it fun.
“How long have you lived out here?” Susannah asked. She was standing on a stool while Hester pinned the hem of a blue muslin dress.
“Nigh on to four years,” Hester replied. “We come out after the war. We lost our place in Virginia. Yankees took it all.”
“Don’t you get lonesome out here all alone?”
“Oh we’re not as alone as it looks. There’s other spreads here ’bouts. The Cramers live a couple miles to the east, then there’s the Babbitts and the Hallidays to the south, and the Mortons over to the north. We all get together now and then.”
“Don’t the Indians bother you?”
“Naw. Oh they steal some stock now and then, but mostly they leave us alone.”
Susannah thought about Black Wind, who had been sentenced to three years at hard labor for stealing one cow. “But you said Indians killed your brother-in-law last year.”
“Pawnee,” Hester said. “Monroe was huntin’ on their land. ’Course, they could have just run him off. They didn’t have to kill him.”
A trickle of fear skittered down Susannah’s spine. “Are there Pawnee near here?”
“Mostly Sioux and Cheyenne. They ain’t never give us no serious trouble. Turn a mite to your left,” Hester said. “I’m just about through.”
“Black Wind is Lakota,” Susannah said.
“Sioux. Lakota. Same thing.”
“Oh I didn’t know that.” Knowing he belonged to an apparently peaceful tribe made her feel better somehow.
There was a lot she didn’t know, she thought ruefully, like why she was here.
She stared out the window. She could see the barn in the distance. What was he doing?
“There. All done.” Hester stood up. “You look pretty as a picture in that old dress of mine.”
Susannah smiled her thanks. It was a pretty dress. The neck was square and edged with lace, the sleeves were short and puffy, the skirt full and ruffled.
Stepping down from the stool, Susannah twirled around, liking the way the skirt belled out around her. Wearing yards of muslin and lace made her feel pretty and feminine.
Hester shook her head. “Hard to believe I was ever skinny enough to wear that dress. Well, I’d best be seeing to supper. And you’d best go down and see how your man’s doin’.”
Susannah felt oddly shy and excited as she walked down to the barn. She waved at Abe, who was sitting on a stump fussing with a piece of harness, grinned when he just looked at her and shook his head. How on earth did Hester put up with such a bad-tempered husband?
She paused outside the barn and ran a hand over her hair, smoothing it back from her forehead, wishing she had a tube of lipstick and some eye shadow. She frowned when she realized what she was doing. Giving herself a swift mental shake, she stepped into the barn. She looked fine the way she was, and if he didn’t think so, well, that was just too bad.
She found Black Wind walking up and down the long aisle that ran between the stalls, one hand pressed against his side.
“What are you doing?” she exclaimed. “You were shot twice, remember? You’re supposed to be resting.”
“I do not need any more rest. Too much rest makes a man weak.”
Hands fisted on her hips, Susannah glared at him. Stubborn man!
He nodded toward the door. “Will you walk outside with me?”
“Don’t you think you’ve done enough walking for one day?”
“No. Will you walk with me, Su-san-nah?”
“Yes.” Why did her name on his lips make her go all soft and squishy inside?
She heard the sound of pounding hooves as they reached the doorway. She felt Black Wind stiffen beside her and then she peered out the doorway and saw the reason why. Soldiers!
“You’ve got to hide.” Slowly, she pulled the heavy barn door shut. “Up there,” she said, pointing to the loft. “Hurry. You can hide under the hay.”
With a nod, Black Wind grabbed the rifle, then climbed up the ladder and pulled it up after him.
“Black Wind, here.”
Picking up the Army coat that had been draped over the stall, she wadded it into a ball and tossed it up to him.
She hid the dishes under a clump of hay in one of the stalls, folded the blankets Black Wind had been using for a bed and laid them over one of the saddles, took a last look around, and left the barn.
Hester and Abe were standing on the porch when she reached the house.
“What’s going on?” Susannah asked.
“An Injun escaped from the Fort,” Hester said. “They’re lookin’ fer him.”
“Oh?” Susannah glanced at Abe. He had made no secret of his feelings for Indians, or his irritation at having one on his property. She held her breath, waiting for him to tell the Army that the Indian they were looking for was in the barn.
“Miss Susannah, is that you?”
She felt a moment of panic when she saw Lieutenant Carter. With an effort, she fought for a calm she was far from feeling and summoned a smile. “Hello, Elliott.”
“What are you doing here?” he asked, swinging out of the saddle. “Where’s the redskin?”
She forced herself to meet his gaze. “I don’t know where he is.”
“We know you rode off with him.”
“Yes, that’s true. He kidna
pped me, and then he…he left me here in the middle of the night and took off.”
“That’s right,” Hester said quickly. “Ain’t that right, Abe?”
“If she says that’s what happened, I reckon it’s so,” Abe replied gruffly. “I got work to do.” He jabbed a finger in Carter’s direction. “You keep them horses out of my crops, hear?”
“Yes sir. Do you mind if we have a look around?”
“Look all you want. Just don’t be disturbin’ nothing. And keep them animals out of my wife’s garden.”
“We’ll be careful, sir. Thank you, sir.” Carter watched Abe walk off toward the corrals located alongside the house, then turned his attention back to the ladies on the porch. “This is our last stop, Miss Susannah. You can ride back to the fort with us.”
“She ain’t goin’ back to the fort,” Hester declared. “She’s stayin’ here.” She placed her arm around Susannah’s shoulder, as if daring the lieutenant to try to take her away.
“Miss Susannah?”
“Thank you, Elliott, but Mrs. Micklin has offered me the hospitality of her home, and I’ve decided to stay.”
“Are you sure?” Carter glanced around, his expression dubious as he took in the rough-hewn house, the crude corrals and barn, the empty plains beyond.
“Yes. It was nice to see you again, Elliott.”
“Would you mind if I called on you when I get the chance?”
“Of course not,” Susannah replied. She smiled as if she had nothing in the world to hide. “I’ll look forward to it.”
“It might not be for some time,” Carter said. “We’ll be out patrolling for several weeks.”
“I’ll be here.”
Carter smiled at her, then tipped his hat in Hester’s direction. “Good day to you, Mrs. Micklin.”
“Good day, young man.”
“Are we gonna have a look around, Lieutenant?”
“No need, Sergeant. Let’s ride.” Carter nodded at Susannah, then reined his horse around and rode out of the yard, followed by his men.
“Well, that was a close one,” Hester remarked when the dust settled.
Susannah nodded. “Bless you, Hester, for not saying anything.”
“Soldiers! They’re almost as much trouble as the Injuns. Landsakes! I got bread in the oven!” Catching up her skirts, Hester ran into the house.
Blowing out a sigh of relief, Susannah hurried to the barn.
“Black Wind? You can come down now.”
He poked his head over the edge of the loft. “They are gone?”
Susannah nodded.
He looked at her a moment more, then lowered the ladder and climbed down.”You did not tell them I was here. Why?”
“Why should I?”
“I took you from the fort.”
She nodded again, unable to speak when he was so near, unable to draw her gaze from the intensity of his eyes.
“Su-san-nah…” He whispered her name as he took a step toward her, closing the distance between them until they were almost touching. “Why, Su-san-nah?”
“I couldn’t let them take you. I was afraid. Afraid they would beat you again.”
Slowly, his mouth descended on hers. Her eyelids fluttered down as his lips claimed hers. She swayed against him, her hands clutching at his shoulders. His arms went around her waist, drawing her up against him, holding her tight, tighter, until she could scarcely breathe. She felt the sweep of his tongue against her lower lip, found herself thinking that no one had ever kissed her quite like this before, or made her feel as though hundreds of butterflies were dancing in her stomach.
She pressed against him, wanting to be closer, closer, reveling in the strength of his arms. She was swimming in dangerous waters, about to sink into their swirling depths, when she heard a loud “humph” behind her.
Black Wind muttered something that sounded very much like a curse as he released her and took a step backward.
“I got work to do in here,” Abe said curtly.
Heat washed up Susannah’s neck and flooded her cheeks. Without a word, she turned on her heel and ran out of the barn, and then she stopped. She couldn’t go up to the house, not now. She needed some time alone.
Lifting her skirts, she ran toward the stream, thinking a good cold soak was just what she needed.
“Women,” Abe muttered as he began shoveling soiled straw into a wheelbarrow. “Contrary creatures at best.”
Tate Sapa nodded, thinking that perhaps Susannah was indeed a holy woman. She had certainly worked her magic on him. He thought of her constantly, missed her when they were apart, dreamed of her at night.
“You’d best go after her ’fore she gets lost,” Abe remarked as he tossed another forkful of straw into the wheelbarrow. “She looks like a city gal to me, and they ain’t got the sense God gave a goose.”
Tate Sapa was out of the barn before the old man finished speaking.
He found her at the stream, sitting on the bank with her feet dangling in the water. There was a peculiar catch in his heart as he saw her sitting there, looking small and lost and alone.
“Su-san-nah?”
Slowly, she turned to face him, and he saw that there were tears in her eyes.
“Do you wish to be alone?”
She shook her head. “Not really.”
He sat down beside her, close enough that he could feel the heat of her beside him. “Why are you crying?”
“I guess I’m homesick.”
“Where is your home?”
“A long way from here.”
“You do not live at the fort?”
“No.”
“I would take you home if I could.”
“You can’t. No one can.”
“I do not understand.”
“I don’t know how to get back there.”
He frowned, confused by her words. “You do not know the way?”
She shook her head, took a deep breath and dissolved into tears.
“Su-san-nah.” Gently, he gathered her into his arms and held her close while she wept. “Ceye sni yo,” he murmured. Don’t cry.
He stroked her hair, thinking how soft it was, how small she was, how easily she fit into his arms, how right it felt to hold her and comfort her. He should not be holding her at all. For the first time in days, he thought of Wakinyela. He had asked for her hand shortly before he had been captured by the Bluecoats. It had been his father’s wish that he marry Wakinyela. Everyone in the village knew that she would one day be his wife. He tried to summon her image to his mind, but all he could see was the woman in his arms, her sun-kissed cheeks damp with tears.
Gradually, Susannah’s sobs quieted. And still she sat there. And still he held her, the need to protect and comfort her strong within him. And he knew, in his heart, that he would never willingly let her go.
Susannah let out a long, shuddering sigh. “I’m sorry.”
“It is all right.” He brushed away the last of her tears with his fingertips. Her eyes were luminous beneath long dark lashes. “Do you feel better now?”
Susannah nodded. “Yes, thank you.”
“I am leaving here tonight.”
“Leaving! Why?”
“I have been away from my people for too long. I must go home.”
“I’ll miss you.”
“Come with me, Su-san-nah.”
His words took her by surprise. Go with him? For a moment, she let herself think what it would be like to stay with him, to love him… And then she shook her head. “No, I can’t.”
“I will care for you.”
“I know, but I don’t belong with your people. I have to find my way home.”
“You have someone waiting for you there?” Jealousy burned within him at the thought that she might belong to another. “A husband?”
“No. But my parents will be worried. And my friends. I have a house and a career.”
“What is career?”
“I work. You know, a job.”
He frowned at her. “Why do you not have a man to take care of you?”
“I don’t need a man to take care of me,” she retorted, but she couldn’t help thinking how nice it was to be held in Black Wind’s arms, how right it felt for him to soothe her tears.
“The ways of the white man are foolish. He builds big fires that he cannot sit close to. He lives in a square house when all the earth is round. He digs in the dirt for yellow iron and kills the buffalo for its tongue and its hide while my people starve for lack of meat. He lays miles of track across the prairie. The smoke from his trains turns the air black. The noise frightens the animals.”
Tate Sapa shook his head. “They do not look after their women. Truly, the wasichu are a strange breed. I will never understand them.”
Susannah sighed heavily. Everything he said was true, and only served to emphasize how different they were. “I’d better go help Hester with dinner.”
Reluctantly, he let her go. Rising, he helped her to her feet. “I hope you find your way home, Su-san-nah.”
“Me too.” She forced a smile, wondering if she would ever see her home again, wondering if she would be happy there without him.
He watched her walk back to the house and then, his mind made up, he returned to the barn. There were things to do before nightfall.
Chapter Ten
The moon was low in a cloudless sky when Tate Sapa led the black stallion out of the barn. He had donned the soldier coat against the chill of the night. The pockets sagged with the weight of the ammunition he had stolen from the fort. He had tied the eagle feather in his hair, praying its magic would see him safely home.
He did not like stealing from those who had helped him, but necessity had driven him to it. He had taken an old canteen he found in the barn, two of the white man’s blankets, as well as an old saddle and saddlebags that looked as though they hadn’t been used in a long time.
Outside, he slid the rifle into the boot, draped the blankets over the stallion’s withers, hooked the canteen over the horn.
Standing in the shadows beside the corral, he stared up at the house. Susannah was there. She had not returned to the barn after the evening meal. All night, he had waited for her, wanting to see her one last time.
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