Untamed

by Sharon Ihle

"I know," he whispered, his fingers working a kind of magic she'd never even dreamed about. "This won't be dangerous to either of us. Open your legs. I'll show you what I mean."

  * * *

  The next morning, Josie reluctantly emerged from the depths of slumber. She was warmer than she'd ever been since coming to this cabin, even warmer than standing in front of the stove with the flames of a roaring fire licking away at its doors and cooktops. She could hardly move, so tightly swaddled was she in erotic memories and the buffalo spread, and she thought for a fleeting moment that this must be how an infant feels curled up in its mother's womb. She stirred, feeling a distant rush of pleasure, a reminder of the night and Daniel... and magic.

  She felt herself blush as she thought back to the shameless way she'd behaved beneath his touch, and grew warmer still as she recalled her own boldness when it came time to return the favor. Giggling to herself, Josie yawned, then tried to raise her arms to stretch. They wouldn't budge. It was then she realized that she wasn't simply wrapped up in the blanket, but wedged between two immovable objects.

  She glanced to the object on her left—Daniel, who slept on. Then she turned to her right—and came eye-to-eye with Long Belly, who was beneath the blanket with her. "You!"

  Brazenly draping one arm across her waist, he said, "Did you sleep well?"

  "Get out," she said, giving him a shove.

  Daniel stirred, muttering, "What's all the racket about?"

  "Your brother the savage climbed into bed with me while I was asleep, that's what."

  Daniel sat up. "Long Belly? What the hell are you doing in here?"

  "Do not worry that I am trying to steal your woman," he said. "I am only here to protect Broken Dishes as she sleeps."

  Josie slugged his shoulder. "The only thing I need protection from is you."

  Then she pulled the pillow out from under her head and whopped him with it. That got him moving. Long Belly popped out of bed and headed on hands and knees to the ladder. About that time Daniel threw his own pillow at the sneaky bastard, nailing him alongside the head.

  "And stay out," he shouted as Long Belly slinked off downstairs. Turning to Josie, he touched her cheek and said, "How long has he been up here?"

  She shrugged. "I don't know, but now that he's up, I'd better get downstairs and keep an eye on him."

  "But first..." Daniel pulled her across his chest with a kiss that stirred up lusty memories and promises of more to come. When he released her, he tapped the tip of her nose, and then dragged his finger across her cheeks. "Even your freckles have turned red. How long's it been since you blushed in front of a man?"

  Josie laughed as she crept out of bed. "Since before either of us was born."

  Chuckling along with him, she slipped into her buckskins, blew Daniel a kiss, then quietly made her way down the ladder and into the chill of the room below. Long Belly was stoking the fire, but the minute he saw her, he hurried out of the cabin. Sissy was still in bed, awake at last.

  "How are you feeling?" Josie asked, approaching her. Sissy turned listless eyes her way. "Like a horse sat on my chest."

  "One did, remember?" Josie eased onto the bed and slid her hand across Sissy's brow. "How's your head?"

  "Aches a mite, but nothing I can't stand." She fixed her gaze on Josie's cheek and frowned. "What happened to you?"

  She'd almost forgotten that she was scratched up. "That crazy horse I was riding dragged me through a couple of trees, and then pitched me off the side of a mountain. Didn't break anything or get hurt too bad, but I don't think I'll be riding out of here on that animal again."

  Sissy started to laugh, then thought better of it and clutched her ribs. "I guess I wasn't so lucky. Feels kinda busted up in there."

  "You apparently have one broken rib and another that's separated."

  "Figured it'd be worse." She then gave Josie a narrow look. "You taking care of both fellahs now, are you?"

  "You mean cooking for them? Not me."

  "No, I mean I know that Long Belly was up in bed with you most of the night."

  "Not at my invitation, he wasn't. He came up to protect me because he thinks I'm some kind of buffalo goddess like you."

  "Why would he think that?"

  Josie glanced around the cabin, realizing that Long Belly had been gone for some time now—far too long for a man who'd gone outside simply to relieve himself.

  Josie leapt off the bed. "I'll have to explain the rest later, but I will tell you that I found a buffalo yesterday, and that right now Long Belly is probably trying to steal it from me."

  "A buffalo?" Sissy's voice sounded dazed and as if it were fading.

  Leaving her to draw her own conclusions, Josie tugged on Daniel's boots and jacket, and then headed out the door. Once in the fresh air, she was amazed to see how much snow had fallen during the night. Drifts were piled up to the railing on the porch, and still the snow fell, albeit in gentle flurries rather than the blizzard proportions of yesterday. Although visibility was poor, she could see that Long Belly had carved out a narrow trail that led to the barn. A path right to Josie's precious buffalo.

  Head down against elements, she followed that trail. Even before she reached the barn, she could see that the door stood open wide enough to emit a man or a full-grown buffalo. Her heart in her throat, she stepped inside the building. The lantern was lit, the horses and cows were quietly munching away on their morning feed, and the chickens argued over the fattest hunks of grain. Nothing was out of place, and yet everything was.

  Sweetpea was gone and, with her, Josie's hopes for the future.

  Chapter 12

  Inside the cabin, Sissy kept a furtive eye on the spectacle Daniel was making of himself as he half fell, half climbed down the stairs. Beside the fact that he could barely manage the descent on only one leg, he was practically naked, dressed only in a pair of gray drawers. By the time he was on solid ground again, crutches tucked neatly under his armpits, he was turning the air blue with an endless stream of curses. Giving him a chance to calm down, it wasn't until Daniel had reached the stove and put on a pot of coffee that Sissy let him know she was awake.

  "Josie says she found a buffalo. That true?"

  He turned to her in surprise. "Beg your pardon for my foul mouth, Sissy. I didn't think you'd come around yet."

  "I've heard them words before and plenty more like 'em. Is it true?"

  He nodded wearily. "It sure is. Even more amazing, she somehow managed to get the thing to follow her back here. Put it up in the barn like it was an orphaned calf."

  Something new ached inside Sissy at this news, a pain that had nothing to do with her injuries. "Didn't know you could get a wild critter like that inside a barn."

  "Neither did I." Daniel gave off a feeble chuckle as he hobbled over to where he'd left his clothes. "According to Long Belly, Josie has some kind of magic touch with the damn thing."

  The ache in Sissy's breast intensified. She tried to swallow the pain as she said, "Well, I guess that makes her the new Queen of Buffalo around here. 'Bout time. I was getting kinda tired of wearing the crown."

  "I wouldn't hand over your throne just yet, at least not until we talk some sense into her."

  "What's she gone and done?"

  "Josie has taken it into her head that the buffalo belongs to her, and only her." Daniel slipped on his shirt and buckskin trousers. "She won't let me or Long Belly get near it."

  "But she cain't do that." Sissy tried to sit up, forgetting about her ribs, and set off a fresh explosion of pain. Again clutching her midsection, she eased back down on the pillow.

  "Hey—better take it easy." Daniel leaned over the bed. "You've got a couple of broken ribs."

  "I know," she whispered, waiting for the pain to ebb. "Lord knows I know."

  She organized her breathing, and then said, "Josie's gone off after Long Belly. I don't know what he'll do if she don't let him get at that buffalo."

  Daniel turned quickly toward the window, but not fa
st enough to hide the concern in his expression. She thought she'd seen a little more than simple worry lining his face, too. Sissy didn't mind so much that Daniel had feelings for the gal, but it irritated her some to realize that suddenly everyone loved Josie with little or nothing left over for her. Not that Sissy was used to or expected anything more. She supposed this sudden burst of jealousy, or whatever it was, had something to do with those few days of respect she'd enjoyed as a woman graced with the buffalo spirit. As silly as Long Belly's claims were, they had given her a fleeting glimpse of what it must be like to be cherished rather than scorned, a woman of pride.

  At the window, Daniel said, "I can't be sure with all the snow out there, but it looks like the barn door might be open. Maybe I ought to go out and check on them."

  Sissy considered this along with the stubborn, selfish side she'd witnessed in Josie, and figured if the new buffalo goddess really cared about keeping that damned animal to herself, she'd probably find a way to stand up to the warrior. After all, Long Belly had proved more than once that he responded much better to female threats than he did to tears or passive displays.

  With a little sigh, Sissy said, "Now that I think on it, I'd be more worried about that injun than Josie. When that gal found out he'd gone to the barn, she lit on out of here like a swarm of bees was on her ass. I hope she ain't packing that gun of yours."

  * * *

  Inside the barn, Josie stood in the center aisle in stunned disbelief. Where could Sweetpea have gone? Snow had been piled high against the barn, the drifts covered with frozen shards of ice. If a buffalo had recently broken through that frozen crust of snow, Josie most surely would have noticed the trail. That aside, how could a buffalo have opened the door in the first place? And where the devil had Long Belly gone—on foot, no less? None of it made any sense.

  She took another look around the inside of the barn and realized something else was amiss. The ground near the entrance was dug up, and the backside of the barn door was splintered, looking as if someone had taken an axe to it.

  As she focused on the door, trying to understand what might have happened there, Long Belly stepped though the opening. His expression had been bright compared to the weather, satisfied, until the moment he saw her. Then suddenly he was all worry lines and wary eyes, looking as guilty as Judas Iscariot.

  Thinking only of her future plans and how this man might have ruined them, Josie snatched up the shovel leaning against the cow's stall and advanced on him.

  "What have you done to her?" she demanded. "Where is Sweetpea, you, you... bastard."

  Long Belly held up his arms and retreated to the open doorway. With the background of snow flurries framing him, he looked like the angel of death.

  "I have done nothing to harm this buffalo," he insisted. "She is safe in the corral outside."

  Josie lowered the shovel to half-mast. "Why did you put her out there?"

  "I did nothing. The buffalo put herself in the corral." He dared to take one step back into the relative warmth of the barn. "When I came outside, I heard the beast banging against the door. I was afraid she would tear the barn down in her efforts to escape. I went around to the back and opened that door. When she saw the snow and the trees, she ran outside."

  "Then Sweetpea is all right? She isn't hurt or lost?"

  "The buffalo is content." Long Belly did something after that comment that Josie had never witnessed before. He smiled. "You must remember that I have great concern for this buffalo and would never bring harm to her. My people and I are most grateful for the gift you have brought to us."

  Josie thought about setting him straight right then and there, and she was sorely tempted to inform him that his people would just have to worship both Sweetpea and herself from afar. Something in his expression made her hold her tongue. It was as if Long Belly were in another world as he spoke of his people and the buffalo, a magical place that made his dark eyes shine and his cinnamon skin glow from within. She knew then that she need never fear that the savage would harm Sweetpea. Stealing her was another matter.

  Josie propped the shovel against the feed room wall. "I'm going out to see Sweetpea now," she said, turning toward the back of the barn. "I have to at least say good morning to her."

  In a hurry to do just that, Josie slipped quietly through the back door and saw the buffalo huddled under a lean-to attached to the back of the barn. She was happily munching away on the pile of hay Long Belly had apparently set out there for her until she heard Josie's approach. Then she began to grunt, a sound that Josie took as "I missed you."

  Speaking in low, cooing tones as she drew closer to the animal, she said, "So, you didn't like the cozy accommodations in the barn, huh?"

  Sweetpea turned to look at her, swinging her great head and still grunting.

  "I don't want to disturb your breakfast. I'm just checking to make sure you have everything you need." As far as Josie could tell she did, with the exception of water. "I'll be right back."

  Returning to the barn, she grabbed an empty pail and filled it from the water barrel just outside the feed room. About then, Daniel limped in through the front door.

  "Everything all right in here?" he asked, looking from her to Long Belly, who was busy milking the cow.

  "Yes," she said, "even though your brother-in-law was forced to put Sweetpea outside in the cold."

  "The beast is wild," Long Belly muttered. "She would tear down the barn if kept inside. See the door for yourself."

  Daniel glanced behind him. "Wow, what'd she do, go crazy?"

  "You make it sound as if she's insane," Josie said. "She's fine around me. She only gets wild when you or Long Belly tries to interfere with her."

  "That's because she is wild," warned Daniel. "No matter how much she may seem not to mind your presence, you've got to remember that this buffalo is a wild beast, not a cow in a field. She could be very dangerous."

  "To you and Long Belly, perhaps," she said over her shoulder as she turned and headed back out to the corral. "But Sweetpea would never hurt me—she adores me."

  This time when Josie approached the buffalo, metal pail in hand, Sweetpea's grunts grew louder, more serious, and she turned the whites of her eyes on her. The behavior gave Josie pause, but she continued to speak to the animal in soothing tones.

  "Easy, girl. I've just brought you some water." Then she held up the pail.

  Ungrateful as only a wild beast could be, the buffalo lowered her head and charged.

  Josie flung the pail in the air, not bothering to stick around long enough to see where it landed, and ran as fast as she could for the safety of the barn. As she closed the door behind her, she could hear the sounds of horn against metal, shuddering to think Sweetpea could just as easily be tossing her around.

  "If that buffalo adores you so damn much," came Daniel's voice from behind her. "Why isn't she a little more grateful that you brought her a pail of water?"

  Josie spun around, still trembling, but indignant. "She likes me fine. She simply wasn't thirsty."

  He smiled. "Then where's your bucket?"

  Head held high, Josie started up the aisle toward the front of the barn, sashaying by Daniel and Long Belly as she said, "I left it with Sweetpea. I figured she could use a toy."

  Then she headed for the cabin, humbled by the knowledge that if she hoped to make The Buffalo Queen Ranch a reality one day, she was going to have to learn a whole lot more about the species.

  * * *

  The blizzard raged for another week. To Daniel, who spent those nights sharing the loft with Josie while Long Belly stayed in the bed with Sissy, it was a time of both pleasure and pain. Although he and Josie continued to satisfy one another, each of them ferreting out the most responsive places on their bodies, his frustration grew.

  Even while he'd been married, Daniel had never been much of a kisser. Tangle Hair had it in her mind that mouths and tongues mingling was something unclean. With Josie, who couldn't seem to get enough of his kisses, D
aniel felt as if he were getting a whole new education in matters between the sexes and had discovered the kind of desire that started from somewhere other than his groin—a desire so strong, he wasn't sure how much longer he could go on wanting her, but not having her.

  Adding to his frustration was his general physical condition. Although his leg was much stronger, it still couldn't support his weight. That meant Daniel was basically stuck in the cabin until the weather cleared. Josie had pretty much appointed herself as tender of the livestock, a situation that kept her out of doors for long periods and prompted occasional battles between her and Long Belly over who would see to the buffalo's needs. Sissy was on the mend, but not much use with the household chores. Daniel, much to his aggravation, was the only one left who could prepare the meals, such as they were.

  It was as he was trying to decide between cooking up some hamhocks and beans or frying a couple of elk steaks for supper, that Josie came back to the cabin, bringing with her a cloud of snow. She shook herself out of his jacket, and then brushed the excess flakes from her hair. The arrowheads Long Belly had attached to her braids bobbed against her breasts, constant reminders of her newly exalted status.

  "When is this storm ever going to stop?" she asked breathlessly. "I swear I've never seen anything like it so early in the season."

  Long Belly, who was working on his handwriting skills at the table, looked up to say, "The buffalo—she is well?"

  Josie nodded. "So far, but if this keeps up, I'm afraid she'll freeze to death out there in that corral. She's got icicles hanging off her fur."

  "Don't worry about her," said Daniel. "Buffalo are made for weather like this. If you want to worry, concern yourself about my cattle. They didn't get a chance this year to put on much by way of winter fat. I'm told they could have a pretty rough time of it out there,"

  "You heard right," she said. "Between prairie fires and lack of rain this summer, everyone's cattle suffered. My stepfather's herd is in the same shape. If these storms don't let up soon, I'm afraid he's going to lose a few head."