Texas Brides Collection

by Darlene Mindrup

  A crackling in the underbrush brought him whirling around, his Colt whipped from his holster. A small rabbit came from the bushes, startled at their presence. It froze in fear, then turned and skidded away.

  Wolf turned back to April and found her staring fixedly at his gun. She lifted terrified eyes to his, and he quickly holstered his weapon. He could read the questions racing across her uneasy features.

  “Get your things together,” he ordered gruffly. “I’ll get my horse.”

  She watched him walk away and saw what she hadn’t noticed previously. A small cleft in the side of the canyon formed a natural indented shelter. Wolf had lashed pine branches together to form a covering against the wind. He pulled them away, and a beautiful pinto was revealed to her eyes. It nickered softly when it saw Wolf.

  “Hey, boy,” he responded, patting its sides. “Ready to go?”

  He carefully moved the horse backward out of the little shelter, turning him until he faced back up the canyon.

  April stared at the two of them, wide-eyed. “Has he been here the whole time?”

  “Yep.”

  “But I never saw him or heard him when I came outside.”

  Wolf grinned at her in amusement. “Not very observant, are you?”

  April ignored his comment. She came closer, stroking the animal’s soft nose. “He’s a beauty. What’s his name?”

  “Sky Dancer. I call him Dancer for short.”

  Wolf entered the cave, returning moments later with their packs. He glanced at April’s shoes.

  “I hope you can make it up the canyon in those.”

  Surprised, April studied the trail they were about to take. “Aren’t we riding the horse?”

  He shook his head, strapping the packs to the horse. “Not until we get out of this canyon. There’s still ice clinging to many of the surfaces. It’s too dangerous.” He took the horse’s reins and began moving forward carefully. “Watch your step.”

  April took one last look at the cave. It had been a refuge of sorts for the past two days, and she was suddenly reluctant to leave its comfort.

  When they reached the top of the canyon, the wind hit them with its full force, taking April’s breath away. Her blue wool coat did little to dispel the cold. She shivered.

  “It seems colder up here,” she yelled.

  Without turning, Wolf yelled back at her. “It is. There’s nothing to block the wind.”

  When he attained a safe distance, he turned and reached to help April into the saddle. Climbing up behind her, he settled himself comfortably, stretching around her to hold onto the reins.

  April tensed at his nearness, then slowly relaxed against his warmth. “Are you sure Dancer can carry both of us?”

  “He can, but not as quickly as he can carry one. We’re going to have to camp out tonight.”

  She jerked her look back over her shoulder. “Outside? But we’ll freeze!”

  His intense eyes met hers. “It was either that or stay until the weather warmed.”

  Unable to hold his knowing gaze, she turned forward.

  “Although leaving might just have been the second stupidest mistake I’ve ever made,” he continued, his voice dangerously low.

  “Why?”

  The question barely left her mouth before the sun was blocked by moving clouds. She looked up and saw the sky growing leaden gray.

  “It’s going to snow!” she said in surprise.

  His look flickered around the sky, his face growing grimmer by the minute. “I’m afraid so.”

  As they plodded along, April sucked in a deep breath of the cold air. The distance between them and the cave increased, and she became more relieved with each passing mile.

  “A little snow won’t hurt us,” she encouraged.

  His silence made her curious. She looked over her shoulder and caught the quick frown on his face. Her heart began to hammer with dread. “What is it?”

  “This isn’t going to be a little snow.” He shook his head in disgust. “I knew this was a bad idea.”

  Wolf stopped the horse in a stand of trees. Getting down, he pulled April off after him.

  “We need to make a shelter.”

  April looked around at the forest of pines. “Can’t we just go back to the cave?”

  He shook his head, retrieving a small ax from his saddlebag. “We’ve come too far. It would take too long.”

  He started hacking away at small pine trees. “Help me get these over there to that spot beneath those three large pines.”

  They worked together as quickly as possible, but even so, by the time they had cut enough saplings, the snow had started to fall.

  Using some rope from his saddle, Wolf made a crisscross section using the three large trees as poles. He then wove the saplings between the rope until there was a small lean-to, while April gathered their blankets and some of the supplies.

  Finding some dry kindling, Wolf started a fire in the middle of the area and motioned April to have a seat. She hurried inside, watching as Wolf began putting more saplings against the front, finally closing them inside.

  “What about Dancer?”

  He shook his head. “He’ll be fine.” He scooted over until he was close to the fire. “We should be all right here ’til the storm passes, though I’m not certain how long that will be.”

  Although it was far from warm in their little shelter with the wind blowing through the cracks and branches, it was much better than being outside. April was thankful that she was with Yellow Wolf. His survival instincts would keep them alive, she knew without a doubt. Oddly enough, despite his earlier amorous attitude, she felt remarkably safe with him.

  “How far did we come?” she asked.

  “About five miles.”

  Amazed, she turned a shocked face to him. “You mean we still have thirty-five miles to go?”

  He looked at her, laughter in his eyes. “Yep.”

  “How long do you think the storm will last?”

  “I’d say until tomorrow morning, at least,” he told her, without looking at her.

  April swallowed hard. If this man was so attractive inside the cave where she had some room to move around, what was he going to be like sitting three feet away?

  She caught his glance and saw his slow smile. He knew what she was thinking, she was certain of it. If he was dangerous in the cave, she decided, here he was going to be absolutely lethal.

  Chapter 6

  For two days, they were buried by an avalanche of snow. Periodically Wolf would push his way free of their shelter and check on Dancer. April stayed huddled near the low-burning fire.

  During this time, they were able to talk. The tension between them crackled like the burning embers of the fire, but Wolf kept a respectful distance. April wasn’t certain if she was grateful or disappointed. She had never experienced such a strong attraction to anyone in her life, and she didn’t know what to do about it.

  Periodically, April caught Wolf studying her and wondered what he was thinking. His thoughts were hidden by his set, immobile face.

  April shared with him the story of her life. Whenever she talked about her brother, Wolf could hear the love and devotion in her voice. He wondered again if she was as innocent as she claimed. Perhaps her brother had used that devotion to convince her to help him. Still, it was hard for him to believe.

  When they finally rose from their shelter, snow had fallen to a depth of several feet. Wolf had never seen anything like it in his life. He’d lived most of his life in these parts, and while snow was common, this one was definitely out of the ordinary.

  He was lashing what was left of their supplies to his saddle. He glanced over his shoulder at April.

  “In my saddlebag is some twine. Could you hand it to me, please?”

  April hurried to do as he asked, anxious to get moving. Her feet crunched through two feet of snow, the cold seeping up her legs and into her already numbed feet.

  She delved into the bag, her fingers encoun
tering a small, hard object. Curious, she pulled it out. She stared at the Bible in surprise.

  Wolf glanced up at her, his mouth open to hurry her. He stiffened when he saw her standing there, his Bible open in her hands. He crossed quickly to her side, his long legs making short work of the distance.

  He jerked the Bible from her hands. “I said twine,” he grated, moving to put the book back in his bag.

  She placed a detaining hand over his. “Wait!”

  His set look was forbidding.

  “Please, there’s something I would like to show you.”

  He didn’t stop her from taking the book, but the glare he gave her was uncompromising.

  “It was my mother’s. That’s why I keep it, no other reason.”

  “Wolf,” April countered, “you and Ted have something in common besides the death of your parents. You both blame God for their deaths.”

  He lifted a supercilious eyebrow. “And I shouldn’t?”

  She looked into his eyes, trying to impart a small measure of her faith. He recognized the sincerity behind her look and stilled.

  “For two years I’ve wanted to show my brother two special verses in the Bible, but I didn’t have the opportunity until just lately. I missed that opportunity.” Her blue eyes were serious. “I don’t want to miss that opportunity with you.”

  She flipped the pages of the Bible to the book of Hebrews. Sliding her finger down the page, she finally stopped at chapter two, verse fourteen. She lifted it for him to read. His eyes skimmed it, then lifted to hers.

  “And?”

  She then flipped the pages until she reached the book of Matthew. She had him read the twenty-eighth verse of chapter ten.

  “Wolf,” she told him, “Satan has the power of death. You blame God, but there is another entity with the power to destroy lives. It’s Satan you should be angry with, not the Lord.”

  His eyes darkened in anger. “The book of Job talks about God allowing Satan to use that power. He could always say no.”

  Surprised, April studied his tense face. He knew far more of the Bible than just a casual reading would allow. It was obvious that at some time he had studied it.

  “Tell me,” she asked him sharply. “Are you angry with God because He didn’t serve your purpose instead of His own? Maybe you think you have a better understanding of the universe!”

  Her sarcasm stung. Wolf ’s nostrils flared. He pulled the twine from the bag and turned to leave. April called after him, desperation in her voice. She had to make him see.

  “If Satan killed your parents, then why do you serve him? He’s the one you should be angry with, and you should be doing everything in your power to deny him instead of following after him.”

  He turned sharply, his face unusually pale. His hands folded into fists at his side.

  “Get your things together, and for your own sake, shut up!”

  April’s eyes widened at his ferocious look. She swallowed hard, staring at him in impotent fury. She turned quickly and disappeared inside the lean-to.

  Wolf released his breath slowly, his hands uncurling at his sides. The thing that bothered him most was that she made perfect sense. One could only serve two masters, either the god of the world or the God of heaven. And it was not the God of heaven who had brought sin into the world.

  He finished his preparations to leave in heavy silence. April came and stood next to him, her look wary. He lifted his gaze to her face.

  “Don’t worry. I’m not about to scalp you.”

  Her lips twitched slightly. “I had wondered.”

  Ever so slowly his lips curled into a smile. The darkness of his eyes lightened as the anger drained from him.

  “Are you ready to go?”

  She nodded but said nothing.

  “We’re going to have to walk. The snow’s too deep for Dancer to carry us through.” He lifted an eyebrow. “It’s gonna be tough going.”

  April looked around, then sighed. “Well, we can’t stay here, can we?” Moving past him, she began trekking forward. Wolf ’s sharp whistle pierced the air, and she turned to him in question. His hand snaked out, his forefinger pointed in the opposite direction.

  “That way.”

  Flushing, she raised her nose slightly and headed in the direction of his pointing finger. Grinning, he followed her.

  It took them a whole day to travel only a few miles. That night Wolf once again rigged them a small shelter.

  “Tomorrow we should make it out of the snow, then we’ll be able to travel faster.”

  April laughed, though she felt no humor. “Can’t wait to be rid of me, huh?”

  His eyes met hers, and at the look in them, her breathing grew labored. She ducked her head, sorry that she had spoken.

  “What will happen to me?” she asked quietly.

  Folding his tongue behind his teeth, he glanced away. “You’ll have to stand trial.”

  The color drained from her face. “But I didn’t do anything!”

  Still not looking at her, he told her, “That’ll be for the jury to decide.” When he finally looked at her, she could see uncertainty in his expression. “Would it help if I told you that I believe you?”

  She smiled slightly. “I’m glad for that, but somehow I don’t think it’s going to help me much. Jason will want to see me hang.”

  He frowned. “Jason?”

  April told him about the banker. He glowered at her. “If he’s any kind of a man at all, he’ll want to see justice done.”

  “Maybe.”

  The unrestrained fury in his eyes unnerved her. She settled down to try to sleep, exhausted by the day’s travels. The snow had been brutal to try to travel through, and even Dancer stood a few feet away with head hung down.

  Wolf lay a short distance away from the fire listening until he heard April’s deep breathing. He turned his head slightly until he could see her by the light from the fire. She lay on her side, her blanket clutched tightly against her. Her dark hair spilled in a mass around her head, and he found himself wanting to run his fingers through its silkiness.

  Shaking his head, he forced himself to concentrate on his next move. Within two days, he would hand April over to the sheriff at Abasca. His insides went cold at the thought. Was it possible that she would really hang?

  He glanced back at her sleeping form. For the first time in his career, he wanted to take a prisoner and run. Get her as far away as possible. But he knew that was not the way. He had to trust in the law to make things right.

  April, he knew, trusted in God to make things right. But what if it wasn’t in His will to let April live? She knew the possibilities, yet she seemed so secure in His love. What if He chose to let her die, just like his parents? Pain lanced his heart at the thought.

  How could one woman so consume his thoughts and feelings in such a short time? Was it just the fact that they had shared hardship and danger together and so naturally grew closer by doing so? He thought not, for April was not the only woman he had ever been sent to capture. The problem was, she had instead captured him. Whatever happened, he was irrevocably tied to this woman in his heart. He sighed heavily, rolling away and forcing himself to crawl into the arms of Morpheus.

  Three days later they topped the ridge that led to Abasca. Wolf pulled Dancer to a stop, suddenly reluctant to continue.

  April’s quiet voice startled him.

  “Wolf, do you think we could go by my cabin first so that I might clean up some?”

  She glanced up at him over her shoulder, and his mouth went dry. Could he do it? Could he actually turn her over for trial?

  “Sure,” he answered gruffly, thankful for the reprieve.

  They plodded into her yard, and April sensed the emptiness. Had it only been six days? It seemed more like a lifetime.

  Wolf pushed himself backward over Dancer’s rump and came around to help April dismount. His hands rested on her waist long after her feet touched the ground. Their gazes were locked together, and April
found herself unable to look away. She placed her hands against his buckskin-clad chest and felt his heart racing against her palms.

  In a few short hours, this man would hand her over to the sheriff. After that, he would be gone. If he caught her brother and his cohorts, he would bring them back for trial, but what if he was killed? Or what if she was hanged before he returned? Despite what he said, she had no faith in seeing justice served when so much was stacked against her. Still, with God, she knew that she was loved and protected. Whatever happened, He was there for her.

  “Wolf?”

  He said nothing, continuing to stare into her eyes. She knew he would never break his promise. She surprised herself with her boldness.

  “Please kiss me.”

  His eyes grew so dark, they reminded her of her mother’s black onyx stone necklace. He pulled her close, crushing her into his arms. His kiss told her that he felt the same, as though this might be the last time they saw each other again. The kiss went on and on until April’s legs grew weak beneath her. She finally pushed away, but Wolf refused to release her. His fingers grazed her jaw ever so lightly.

  “As God is my witness,” he told her roughly, imitating her own words, “I will not let you hang.”

  She lifted her hand, allowing her fingers to stroke the several day’s growth of whiskers on his chin. “Trust in Him,” she whispered. “Just this once, trust in Him.”

  His look moved over her face, imprinting its picture on his memory. “I do.”

  Wolf flinched as he heard the door of the jail cell clang with finality. April curled her fingers around the bars, looking out at him. Such faith shone in her eyes that it softened his heart.

  The sheriff glared at her in disapproval. “Miss Hansen,” he barked, “I never would have thought it of such a fine upstanding young woman like yourself.”

  Anger rose up in Wolf. “Sounds like you’ve appointed yourself as judge and jury already. Are you going to be the executioner, too?”

  The sheriff ’s cheeks turned ruddy with embarrassment. “She’ll get a fair trial,” he snapped.

  “She’d better.”

  The sheriff ’s eyes grew large at the softly implied threat. His face lost some of its color. There wasn’t a person in the territory who hadn’t heard of Yellow Wolf Jackson. The sheriff ’s eyes slid to the Colt revolvers resting at his sides.