“Are ye sure ye do na need yer shawl?” he asked. She had lain it in the corner of the wagon along with William’s fiddle.
“Nay, I have ye to keep me warm now.”
William snapped the reins and the four took off toward Whispering Hills, with Camel tied to the back of the wagon.
“I’m sorry it is na a fancy carriage to carry ye tonight my beautiful bride,” he said.
“Och, we have na need of fancy. We only have need of each other,” Artis said, looking up at him.
“Aye, and we will always have that.” Bear exhaled a sigh of contentment. He couldn’t believe the gorgeous woman sitting next to him was his wife. He pressed her a little closer and gave her a soft lingering kiss, relishing the softness of her lips.
His calm was shattered by the hunger he felt in her kiss.
“Husband, will we be able to…to be together tonight?” she whispered.
He caught her meaning and smiled. “Nothing of this world could keep us apart this night.”
“But where? We have only have this one blanket. It will na be enough to keep us both warm.”
“Oh, I promise ye I can keep ye warm.”
“But how will ye stay warm?” she asked, and then kissed his neck.
He found it hard to think clearly, but she had a point. He quickly devised a plan and shared it with her. “We’ll let William marry us, then we’ll go back to Whisperin’ Hills, change our clothes, and get everythin’ we’ll need. Then, if the weather is still fair, we’ll come back to yer land and make a camp for the night.”
“Our land.”
“Aye, our home.” He sat up straighter. “Speakin’ of home, I’m goin’ to see if the land next to yours is still for sale. If it is, I’ll buy it with my funds.”
“That would be wonderful.” She placed a palm against his chest and gazed up at him.
“Then with my reward money, I’ll hire a housewright and craftsmen to help me build our home. If we hurry we can get it finished before the first snowfall.”
Joy bubbled out of her in a wide grin and happiness shone in the sparkle of her eyes. Even in the darkness, he could see the warm glow that lit up her ecstatic face. She leaned against him, her softness melting into his body. He could feel her breast pressed against his chest and it made his desire flare and a smile spread across his face.
Satisfaction made him smile too. His heart swelled at the realization that he’d made her so happy. He pressed her against him again, wanting to always keep her as happy.
“Halt!” a man’s voice yelled from the darkness. “I’ve got one of your women in my sights and she dies if one of you men makes a single move. Throw out your weapons.”
William instantly shoved Kelly’s head downward and slapped the reins of the horse team, urging them to a fast run. “Hah!” William yelled to the horses.
Bear pushed Artis’ entire body down and, as best he could, entangled in her skirts, he tried to move in front of her.
A ball of lead exploded the rear boards, sending splinters of wood flying over both of them.
Artis screamed, but Bear kept his eyes on the attacker, trying his best to aim his pistol with the wagon bouncing violently.
The horseback man gave chase, hunkering down low on his horse.
Bear fired his pistol, but a lurch of the wheels as they hit a rut in the road caused the lead to miss its target. “Damn it to hell!” he swore.
The man ducked his horse into the safety of the dark forest before Bear could fire his second weapon. He could hear the rider having to weave his horse through the woods. That would slow him down.
“He’s following!” he yelled to William.
William leaned back and crouching down low, extended one of his two pistols toward Bear. “Shoot him, first chance you get.”
“Here,” Bear said, exchanging weapons. “Have Kelly reload it.”
Bear peered into the darkness, trying to spot whoever it was. Dark clouds obscured the stars and moon now and all he could tell was that it was a lanky man.
“You killed my brother and my friends you bloody Scot,” their pursuer yelled from what seemed like a good distance away.
So that’s who this was. The fourth wanted man listed on the handbill. Bear knew the man probably had another pistol and would take his shot soon. He had to do something before the man shot Artis, Kelly, or William. He stuck his and William’s loaded pistols back in his belt. “Stay down as flat as ye can,” he told Artis. Between the utter darkness and the bouncing wagon, he could barely see her.
He crawled to the back and, ducking below what was left of the wagon’s rear boards, he untied Camel’s reins. Slithering forward on his stomach, he led the horse alongside the wagon up to the front driver’s bench.
“Keep it straight,” he yelled to William.
William glanced back and nodded.
“Steady now, steady Camel,” he told the gelding. With one giant leap, he swung his leg over the horse and managed to almost land on the saddle. Leaning hard to the horse’s right side, he was in danger of falling under the wagon’s wheels.
Gritting his teeth, he reached up, gripped the pommel, and heaved himself fully astride the gelding. Breathing a sigh of relief that he’d tightened the saddle well, he bent low on the horse’s neck, and pulled up next to his brother. “Keep goin’. Get the women to safety,” he yelled.
“Nay, do na leave him!” Artis cried out.
Thankfully, William ignored her and kept the wagon thundering down the road away from him.
With a tug, Bear turned Camel around and, pistol drawn, headed down the road toward where he’d last heard the pursuer. He approached cautiously and slowly and led Camel into the safer area of the woods on the side opposite of the path taken by their pursuer. He was still out of pistol range, but the man might have his rifle loaded. He’d wrongly assumed he wouldn’t need his own rifle and foolishly left it in McGuffin’s cabin. He would never make that mistake again.
Bear dismounted and tied Camel. He needed stealth if he was going to catch the man unawares. Listening, he heard the rider’s horse making its way through the thick brush and timber. The robber was about twenty yards away on the other side of the road.
Bear waited, hidden in the trees, until the man’s horse passed by on the opposite side. Holding both his and William’s pistol, he silently stepped to the other side and came up behind the horseback man.
“Come out of the woods and fight like a man, if ye are one!” Bear bellowed. Nearly all men will respond to a threat to their manhood.
A dark figure, emerged from the woods, turned his mount, and headed toward him. Brandishing his own pistol the man glared at him. “You killed all three of them! The shopkeep told me it was you before I knocked him out.”
Bear drew his brows together in an angry frown. “Did ye kill him?” he asked, concerned for Breedhead.
“No, the coward told me where I’d find you.”
“A man who threatens innocent women from behind could be called a coward too,” Bear said, deliberately trying to make the man angry. Angry men were never very good at aiming their weapons. “Why didn’t you just call out for me and voice your grievance to my face? Why sneak up from behind? Because yer na more than a devious coward, that’s why.” The man must have waited outside the ball and overheard the Governor lavish praise on Bear, then followed them when they left.
“I may be a robber, but you’re a murderer,” the man growled through clenched teeth.
“Aye, I killed them, because they deserved it.” Bear felt a muscle of his jaw quiver as his mind raced. If he could disable him, but not kill him, they stood a chance of recovering the state treasury’s gold. They would just have to get this thief to divulge where the gold was hidden. The funds would allow Kentucky to address the many needs discussed at the delegate’s assembly.
The enraged man’s face twisted in anger and he dismounted and marched closer to Bear. “You deserve to die for killing my brother and friends!” The hand holdi
ng a pistol burst upward as he took aim.
Bear fired first, aiming for the thief’s shoulder.
The man squealed as the lead penetrated his right shoulder and sent his body sprawling backwards. Unable to hold onto his pistol, the weapon dropped to the ground.
Bear kicked the flintlock away from the moaning man.
He glanced up when he heard noise on the road. He peered ahead, into the darkness, and aimed his second pistol toward what sounded like footfalls. But the night was black and he couldn’t see a thing. The stars now lay hidden behind a veil of dark clouds. Bear held the unfired pistol up, pointing it up the road toward the sound but lowered it at once when he realized who it was. William was running up the road toward him at full speed, weapon drawn.
“Ye can slow down now,” Bear yelled, then looked down.
The bleeding fellow had regained his feet and, holding one hand against his shoulder, was charging him head first.
Bear head-butted the robber and the man collapsed to the ground again, this time knocked out completely.
Bear turned to William who had just reached his side. “That’s what we call a Scottish kiss.”
William grinned and nodded his approval.
“Where’s the wagon?” Bear asked.
Breathing hard, William said, “Artis kept telling me to wait, but I made Kelly promise she would take them both to safety. I gave the horses a slap to hurry them along, and then I took off at a run toward you.”
Bear smiled, amused, at the thought of William sprinting in his fancy clothes. “I thank ye for runnin’ to me aid. But I managed to get the best of the fellow.”
“Who is he anyway? Just a bandit?”
“Nay, he’s the fourth robber described on the wanted handbill I told ye about. He was comin’ after me for revenge for killin’ his brother and two friends.”
“I suspected he’d show up sooner or later, but never suspected he would show up this soon seeking revenge. I should have been more on guard,” William admitted.
“Aye, Sam would be disappointed in both of us for not expecting that. In fact, Sam would probably have predicted it.”
William grunted. “You’re right. Sam is always on high alert. The Revolutionary War made him that way.”
“And it saved us all more than once,” Bear reminded him. “What will ye charge the robber with?”
“I will not make it easy for him since he threatened Kelly and Artis,” William said. “Attempted murder at the least.”
“Aye, the despicable coward.”
“I’ll be sure to recommend the maximum sentence to Judge Webb.”
“Ye might be able to get him to tell ye the location of the gold they stole from the treasury in exchange for gettin’ the doc to dig that lead out. Kentucky needs those funds.”
“Splendid idea,” William said, looking down at the now moaning man. “I’ll go get the man’s horse, he’s just over there.”
“Do ye need help gettin’ this robber tucked safely into yer jail, before I go back for my bride? I will na let this fool spoil my weddin’ night.”
“No, I can handle one wounded man and use his horse. But you can help me tie him up. Then we’ll throw him over the back of his horse and lash him on well behind the saddle.”
“Aye, I’ll help ye put the horse’s ass on his horse’s arse.”
Chapter 19
Artis’ head felt light. She could feel warm blood seeping through her fingers now. The gown’s fabric around the wound had absorbed all the blood it could. She pressed her sticky fingers even harder against the puncture to slow the bleeding. But that made the wound even more excruciating. And each bounce of the wagon caused a sharp pain to radiate up her left side. The robber’s one shot hit her. In the darkness, no one had realized she was wounded. She’d tried to get William’s attention, but he just took off running back to Bear. And Kelly couldn’t hear her above the clamor of the bouncing wagon and horses running a full speed.
She was nauseous. Whether it was from the pain or the jolting lurching ride, she didn’t know. She closed her eyes trying to shut out the queasiness.
“We’re almost there!” Kelly yelled back to her. “Jump out and run in as soon as I pull up to the cabin door.”
Artis turned her head toward Kelly and tried to speak, but didn’t have the strength. In a blur, she saw the smokehouse, followed by the barn, and then the creek. Then the horses swerved severely as Kelly raced the horse team up to the cabin.
“Get out!” Kelly cried. “We need to get into the cabin where it’s safe.”
Artis put her free hand on the side of the wagon. It was all she could move. Even that movement caused her to whimper.
“Artis! What’s wrong?” Kelly cried and peered over the side. “Oh my Lord, you’re bleeding!”
“Aye,” Artis said weakly. Then, against her will, her eyes closed.
“They’re here,” Steller told the older man. “Do na say a word or, as I warned, yer granddaughter dies first.”
McGuffin’s eyes darted toward the bairn and then held Steller’s eyes. “I don’t know who you are or what you want with Miss MacKay but, as I warned, you’ll never get Artis past my son-in-law or his brother. You’d be wise to leave now.”
“I’ll leave when I get what I’ve come for. They’d never shoot a man for simply tryin’ to find his long lost wife. And if they do give me trouble, I can handle a couple of Kentucky farmers.”
McGuffin’s mouth drew into a sour grin for some reason.
The door burst open. “Papa, come quickly…” Kelly stopped, unable to believe the sight before her eyes. A tall large man stood by her father, a pistol held in his hand. The cabin was in disarray as though there had been a terrible fight. Worse, her father, who sat at the table, was bleeding from numerous scratches and cuts.
“Nicole?” she asked, looking at her papa, her voice near breaking.
“Remarkably, she’s still asleep in her bed,” her father said, pointing. He sounded weak and defeated.
Kelly marched to Nicole, ignoring the man with the pistol for the moment. Her child appeared unharmed. Thank you God.
She glared at the man. “Why have you hurt my father?”
“He would na tell me where Artis was,” the man said.
“Who the hell are you?” she asked.
“Her husband.”
Kelly felt as though her stomach dropped to her feet. Could it be possible? Bear had only known Artis for a few days. Perhaps he’d rushed into something he should not have. This would break his heart. “What is your name?”
“Patrick Steller. I would like to say, at yer service, but I regret I must claim my bride and be on my way. What’s yer name?”
“Kelly.”
“Where is she, Kelly?” Steller’s voice was challenging, his eyes dark and penetrating.
He would be a handsome man were his face not so malicious.
“I miss my wife and want to find her as soon as possible. When I got my shave and haircut in town, the barber said the woman I described had been seen in the company of William Wyllie, his wife, and his brother at some meetin’ with the governor. A woman like Artis tends to stand out and his customers had been talkin’ about her. He told me ye were all likely to be at the ball. So I asked him where ye lived and came here to wait. I thought it would be a more private place to reunite with Artis than the fort or the ball. Fewer people, ye understand.”
His words did not ring true to her. “I repeat, why did you beat my father? Why did you simply not wait for Artis?”
Steller advanced toward her, his lips pressed together as though he were trying to hold in his anger. He stopped right in front of her.
Her papa stood. “Don’t you touch my girl!”
Steller’s face hardened. “Remember what I told ye old man.”
Kelly studied her father’s eyes. She saw both rage and fear. It was the first time she’d seen either one on her father’s face. Why was he so afraid? It was unlike him.
Stel
ler turned back to her. “Where’s Artis?”
“I don’t know,” she lied.
“Why did ye come back alone?”
Kelly tried to think of a plausible explanation. “I wanted to get back early to be sure my little girl was all right. It’s the first time I left her for any length of time. You know how mothers are—always worrying.”
“Are the others still at the ball? Are they on their way back?”
The desperate need to help Artis, and trying to stall this awful man until Bear and William returned, warred within her. But what if they took the man who was chasing them back to town? They could be gone for some time. She had to help Artis. She could be bleeding to death. Her face had been so pale.
Steller reached out and slapped her cheek. “I asked ye a question. Answer me!”
Kelly’s eyes burned with her wrath. “I won’t tell you.” She wanted to tell him to leave, but she couldn’t. He’d find Artis.
Steller strode to her daughter. He pointed the pistol at Nicole’s sleeping form. “She’s a pretty thing. Too bad she has to die.”
“No! Wait!” Kelly screamed. She ran to Steller and pushed him away from her child. “What kind of a demon are you?”
“The kind that wants his woman back. Are ye ready to tell me where she is?”
Never in her life had Kelly met anyone as cruel. He was even more vicious than the men who had attacked her back in her old cabin. She found it difficult to believe this kind of man was Artis’ husband.
Kelly glanced down at her daughter. She swallowed her reluctance. It left a bitter taste, but she had no choice. “Artis is in the wagon outside. She’s been shot. We were attacked and chased by a man on our way here. You must help me to get her inside.”
Steller just stood there. Eyes glaring, his expression taut, he stared at the door but didn’t move. The tension in the room mounted with every second.
Fear and anger knotted inside Kelly’s stomach. Would this news cause the man’s mind to crack? Would this heartless man kill them all? A shiver of panic raced through her. “Please, just help me get her inside. I’ll take good care of Artis. You can come back later for her.”
Frontier Highlander Vow of Love (American Wilderness Series Romance Book 4) Page 13
