Yellowstone Origins: Yellowstone Romance Series, Book 6

by Peggy L Henderson

  “He was a shaman among the Bear Clan of the Sky People,” he added.

  “Bear Clan?” Riley’s mind raced. She couldn’t suppress a triumphant smile. She’d been correct after all in her initial assumption that Cameron was somehow related to Dan Osborne. He had to be.

  “Osborne means ‘divine bear,’” she said. “It’s the first thing I thought of when I saw the scars on your back. Dan Osborne, the ranger I met in my time, told me that one of his ancestors was Shoshone. Cameron, I think you’re his ancestor.”

  He shook his head. “I have no Shoshone blood in me. I’m a white man.”

  “Well, somewhere along his ancestry line was a Shoshone. It didn’t have to be you, but I’m telling you, you are his ancestor.”

  Cameron smiled for the first time since he’d told her to collect dry firewood. “And you don’t like to be wrong, do you?”

  Riley raised her chin. “Not when the evidence is staring me right in the face.” She laughed again. “If I had access to a computer and the internet, we could do a genealogy search, and I could prove my theory.”

  Cameron’s thumb stroked along her cheek. Abruptly, his hand fell away. The smile faded from his eyes, and he stood and moved away from her.

  Riley stared after him. There had to be a connection between Cameron and the ranger she’d met in the future. All doubt faded from her mind that Dan Osborne knew about time travel.

  "I think your entire family, past and future, has a strong connection to this area; to Yellowstone," she speculated. "Your parents protected these lands, and even three hundred years from now, there is an Osborne protecting the park." Cameron stopped but didn't turn around.

  “There’s something you’re not telling me,” she called to his back when he didn’t respond. He instantly tensed.

  "I think it's time you get some sleep. You still need to recover from your fall," he answered without looking at her. He spread his bedding close to hers and reached for his bow. Only then did his eyes drift to her.

  “Get some rest, Riley. I have to make sure we’re safe for the night. I’ll be back in a while.”

  With those words, he disappeared into the forest.

  Riley sighed. What wasn’t he telling her? He’d looked at her with such intensity, raising her hopes that he might tell her he had feelings for her, and might even ask if she’d consider staying in this time, but something was holding him back.

  She yawned, and lowered herself onto her sheepskin. Her eyelids grew heavy, lulled from staring at the campfire. Her head still spun a little from the effects of Naatosi’s tea. Tomorrow would be another day to try and get some more answers. For now, she wrapped her head around the fact that she’d been right, and Cameron was, in fact, an Osborne.

  Riley closed her eyes, her mind drifting into a restless sleep. Images of Cameron mixed with those of Dan Osborne, bears, wolves, and the two Sky People elders. Sometime in the night, she rolled against a warm body, and a strong arm drew her in closer. Only then did she drift into a dreamless sleep, comforted in an embrace that made her feel safe and . . . loved.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Riley stirred. Cold air seeped under her sheepskin cover, and she shivered. Fully awake, she opened her eyes to the gray mist that swirled around her. Faint sunlight made an effort to reach the forest floor, but the fog was still too dense. Her hand slid over her waist, where a tingling sensation lingered as if someone had just touched her.

  A soft smile formed on her lips. Had Cameron really wrapped his arm around her, and held her close to him during the night, or was that simply her mind and wishful thinking toying with her?

  Bracing for the cold air, she peeled her cover away and stood. She raked her fingers through her hair in an effort to untangle her long strands and glanced around. Cameron wasn't in camp.

  Riley sighed. He’d better not be sulky again today. The effects of Naatosi’s tea had worn off, and her head was clear. Time to get to the bottom of Cameron’s closed-off mood from yesterday. Since his meeting with Naatoyita, something about him had changed, and it had gotten more noticeable as the day wore on. It was becoming apparent he was trying to come to some sort of decision he didn’t want to make.

  The more she’d thought about him and his connection to both the Sky People and to people in the future, the more intrigued she’d become. Cameron was the key to something in the Sky People’s grand scheme, and she was going to find out what that was. If she had to guess, he already knew the details, and he didn't like what he'd been told.

  The soft gurgling of the nearby creek beckoned, and she headed for it. Riley splashed water on her face, sucking in a quick breath when the icy water hit her skin. She rinsed her mouth, then stood. Her eyes drifted around camp. Loud birdsong filled the solitude of the clearing.

  Where was Cameron? He certainly was a stubborn guy. If he had feelings for her, why couldn’t he come right out and say it? He’d already told her, in a roundabout way, the other day when he’d kissed her, but something had definitely changed. He’d told her he’d found his purpose – implying she was his purpose - but also that he had to let her go. The pain in his eyes, as if his words had been tearing him apart, still haunted her now.

  Riley stood straighter and scanned the area. She had to talk to him. Whatever he'd learned from Naatoyita had created a rift between them. Even if there was no hope for a lasting relationship with Cameron, he could at least communicate with her.

  Thoughts of staying in the past weighed heavily on her mind. She had her familiar life at home - her studies, her books, and her friends.

  Riley sniggered. She had friends in academia, but outside of that, she never got together with any of them. If she wasn’t at school, she went home alone, to her quiet apartment, and her quiet life. It had always been that way.

  She closed her eyes and tilted her head upward. Other than school and her research, what did she have in the future? Even her research would be mundane from now on, after all she'd learned and experienced so far in the past. If she stayed here, it would be painful to never see her grandmother again, but her aunt was there to take care of her.

  Riley had been the result of a teenage pregnancy, and her grandmother had raised her from an infant. She'd only once met her birth mother, who'd left her and her grandmother a few weeks after giving birth. Granny was in a nursing facility with Alzheimer's and didn't even recognize her most of the times she'd gone to visit.

  She inhaled a deep breath. Time to find Cameron and talk to him. He was usually in a hurry to leave camp in the morning, so where had he gone?

  Riley followed the creek out of the clearing and through the trees. The forest was dense in areas and opened up into small patches of grassland in others. She hadn't gone far when movement at the edge of one these open sections caught her attention. Three deer grazed close to the trees. One raised its head, its long ears twitching back and forth. Riley stood still. If they noticed her, they'd no doubt run away.

  When the deer dropped its head again into the tall grasses, she moved behind some trees to give the animals space. She looked into the forest. Her eyes widened when she spotted Cameron standing behind a young lodgepole. His hand reached over his back, slowly pulled an arrow from its quiver, and strung his bow. He clearly hadn’t noticed her, his focus on the deer in the meadow.

  Fascinated by what he was doing, Riley didn’t dare move. She even held her breath. He stood still as a statue, only moving those muscles that absolutely needed to move. Slowly, with absolute precision, he drew back on the bow.

  A slight breeze lifted the hair from the back of Riley's neck. Cameron's body shifted slightly, and his head tilted toward her a fraction of an inch. His concentration seemed to falter. He released the arrow, but it missed its mark. All three deer darted into the trees and quickly disappeared.

  Cameron took a step back and lowered his bow. When his gaze met hers, he frowned. She hadn't moved while he was concentrating on the deer, and from where she stood behind him, he couldn't have seen
her.

  “There went breakfast,” he grumbled, striding toward her. The look of appreciation in his eyes as they traveled over her in an almost possessive way belied his foul mood.

  Riley straightened. Surely he wasn’t blaming her that he’d missed his shot?

  “Better luck next time,” she offered.

  Cameron stopped inches in front of her. “I was hoping for some fresh meat this morning, but you distracted me.”

  Riley’s brows rose, and she stared up at him. “I distracted you?” she echoed. “You couldn’t have seen me.” She squared her shoulders. “In fact, those deer didn’t even notice me.”

  "I notice everything about you when you're nearby." His voice had dropped to a low, sultry tone that sent a shiver up her spine. His hand lifted to her face like he meant to touch her cheek, but he quickly dropped it.

  Cameron abruptly broke eye contact, and turned away from her. Riley’s hand shot forward, and she grabbed for his arm. His muscles tensed beneath her touch, even through his buckskin shirt.

  “What’s happened that you’re so sulky since yesterday?” Riley took a step closer. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  Cameron tensed even more. His frown deepened.

  “Do you regret kissing me?” she blurted. She had to know where she stood with him. Apprehension about his answer made the butterflies churn in her stomach. She touched tentative fingers to his cheek.

  Cameron dropped his bow, and grabbed her hand, his fingers closing over hers. Riley didn’t waver from his dark stare that bore straight into her as he leaned down. Her heart hammered against the lump that formed in her throat as his eyes locked on hers.

  “I have no regrets about kissing you,” he said slowly. “But I won’t hurt you like someone else has done.”

  Riley’s brows scrunched. “What are you talking about?” she breathed.

  “You told me someone took advantage of you once, then left you. I won’t do that, or force a decision on you that you’re not willing to make.”

  She shook her head. How could he compare himself to that jerk she wanted to erase from her memory? And what did he mean, force a decision on her?

  “You’re nothing like him,” she whispered.

  Cameron's stare intensified. Riley raised her other hand to his face and leaned toward him.

  “Cameron, I –”

  Before she could finish her thought, his mouth was on hers. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her up against him before her brain had time to register what was happening. Riley's heart leaped to life in her chest the moment his lips touched hers. She leaned into him, her hands reaching behind his head to draw him closer, her fingers entwining in his hair. A soft moan escaped her mouth, and Cameron tightened his hold around her.

  She was meant to be right here, in his arms, in this time. Nothing had ever felt more right like she'd finally found where she belonged. Whatever Cameron was trying to deny, or fight off between them, dissolved in the intensity of his kiss.

  She drew back slightly to catch her breath, and Cameron abruptly pulled away from her. Reluctantly, Riley eased her hold around his neck, and he stepped away, releasing her completely. His dark, smoldering stare was filled with undeniable longing. He broke eye contact and reached for the bow he'd dropped before he kissed her.

  Riley swallowed past the lump in her throat. Her lips pulsed in time with the pounding of her heart. Her chest heaved, and she opened her mouth to speak, but the force of his stare when their eyes met again stopped her. He took a step closer. His hand reached up to cup her cheek, tilting her head up to him.

  “The next time I kiss you, I won’t stop at just a kiss, Riley. Be absolutely sure if you want me to kiss you again, because when I do, you’ll belong to me, and I keep what’s mine.”

  With those words, he backed away from her and set off at a jog into the forest. Riley stared after him, her mind a jumbled mess and her throat too constricted to call after him. His sultry words, in the aftermath of his kiss, left her alive all over as if they seeped straight into her.

  By the time Cameron disappeared from view, her heart had returned to a more normal pace, but the sensations still lingered of being wrapped in his arms and held against him. Her chest heaved, pulling in a lungful of air. She forced her eyes away from staring into the forest and headed back toward camp on shaky legs.

  What had just happened?

  She smiled and touched her fingers to her lips. Cameron was afraid that she thought he was taking advantage of her? Her stride lengthened. When he came back from his hunt, she'd set his mind at ease, and tell him she loved him. Her decision to stay in this time solidified.

  He didn’t have to say the words to convince her he felt the same way about her. His parting words sent ripples of delight down her spine, with their intensity and conviction, and their implication. She’d have to be a complete fool to let a guy like him go.

  When she reached camp, Riley knelt by the coals from last night’s campfire. She poked at them with a stick, until she found a few that still smoldered and glowed orange when she blew air on them. Gathering some dry grasses and twigs, she sprinkled a few over the coals and continued to blow on them until they erupted in a flame.

  Laughing out loud at her success, Riley added more twigs, then larger pieces of wood as she’d seen Cameron do last night, until her fire was a respectable size. She nodded, and rubbed her hands together, satisfied that there was minimal smoke. It was a small victory, but she was making progress in learning survival skills.

  To kill time, Riley gathered more wood and rummaged through the leather pouch Day Star had given her. She used the porcupine brush to untangle her hair and pulled out the stone bowl and a smaller pouch that contained dried berries and some flour. If Cameron was going to bring back meat, she’d make some fresh cakes to go with it. It would be better than the dried cakes Naatosi had sent with them yesterday.

  She reached for the knife in the pouch, and the water skin, and headed for the creek. Hopefully, Cameron would be back soon. It was still early in the morning, but apparently he’d planned to stay here for part of the day, if he’d decided to go game hunting.

  Riley knelt by the creek, filling her water skin, when something moved a short distance away. Adrenaline raced through her. Was Cameron back? She raised her head, and nearly fell backward on her haunches. Staring at her from across the creek was a large, silver-gray dog. She mentally shook her head. It wasn’t a dog. It had to be a wolf. He stopped when she looked at him, probably equally startled.

  “Good dog,” she murmured, keeping her eye on the big animal.

  He looked large enough that he could leap across the creek in one stride and sink his teeth into her without any problems. The urge to scream increased with the pounding of her heart, but she forced her mouth to remain shut.

  Her hand gripped the handle of her knife, and she rose to her feet. She’d never be able to defend herself if this animal attacked her, but she could at least try and do some damage if he did. The wolf crouched, the sun’s rays making his silvery-gray fur shimmer, and his ears lowered against his head. Riley’s eyes widened when the animal abruptly veered and sprang into the forest away from her.

  "And don't come back," Riley called after him, standing taller. She breathed a sigh of relief.

  She glanced at the knife in her hand. Had she really stood up against this predator, and he’d backed off? A wave of pride and accomplishment washed over her, and she smiled. Her newfound confidence dissolved at the sound of rustling leaves and twigs snapping behind her. Riley spun around.

  The back of a hand connected like a club against her cheek. Her head snapped to the side from the force of the impact and sent her stumbling backward. She fell into the creek with a loud splash. Riley gulped in a breath of air when the cold water hit her skin. Her arms flailed, and she scrambled to the creek bank. She blinked, and her eyes focused on the man charging at her.

  “No,” she screeched. The man’s menacing snarl looked eerily famili
ar. It was the same face she’s stared at when she and Jeffrey arrived in this time. Cunning Fox, the leader of the band of Blackfoot who had kidnapped her, and traded her for Cameron’s horn bow.

  Riley scrambled backward up the creek bank in an effort to regain her footing. The warrior smiled triumphantly and snarled something she didn't understand. He reached for her, grabbing her by the front of her dress, and hauled her to her feet.

  Riley gritted her teeth and gripped her knife firmly in her hand. She swung her arm back, then forward, the blade slicing through the Blackfoot's arm. He released her, a startled expression on his face that turned murderous in the next instant.

  She ran, but her escape was cut short when a painful yank on her hair pulled her backward and to the ground. She cried out when her already-bruised hip connected with hard earth. Riley rolled to her stomach, her heart beating wildly in her chest. Gulping in air became painful.

  An agonizing scream pierced through the air, and she raised her head in time to see another Blackfoot fall to the ground, an arrow sticking from his chest. A few feet away, a body already lay dead in the dirt.

  Cunning Fox growled behind her, and Riley scrambled to get a foothold. The warrior yanked at her hair a second time, then pushed her out of his way. A familiar voice called out using unfamiliar words.

  “Cameron,” she croaked, lifting her head off the ground.

  A third warrior ran at Cameron, his war club raised. Cameron wheeled around, and in one fluid movement, pulled an arrow from his quiver, strung his bow, and aimed. The arrow found its mark, sending the Blackfoot falling face first into the dirt.

  Cunning Fox pulled his war club from his belt and ran at Cameron with a loud roar. There was no time for Cameron to react with his bow. He tossed the weapon aside and met the warrior, his knife in hand. The two clashed like a couple of gladiators.

  “No.” Riley gulped in air. Her lungs didn’t want to cooperate. Wide-eyed, she stared at the two men locked in a sheer battle of strength. Her limbs shook like leaves on a windy day when she pushed herself off the ground. Helpless to do anything, she scrambled to get out of the way.