She forced a smile. “It sounds like a good idea,” she said louder than she had intended. Stepping away from him, she leaned over the table and lifted one of the skillets to carry to the washbasin.
“I’ll get that.” Josh came up beside her. His arm brushed against hers, and Danica sucked in a breath, raking her teeth over her lower lip. Her head turned, and she stared up at him. She’d only seen his facial features relaxed when he’d been asleep. He didn’t look so intimidating, so unapproachable, at this moment. The corners of his mouth rose slightly. Her eyes settled on his lips for a brief moment. For once, they weren’t drawn in a tight line, or raised in a sneer like some predator about to make a kill. What would it feel like to be kissed by him? Danica balled her hand into a fist at her side. The urge to put her palm against his stubbled cheek was overwhelming. Beads of perspiration formed on her forehead.
“It’s okay, Dani.” His deep voice right next to her broke her train of thought. “Don’t worry. It’ll take three days to get to my cabin, and another four to Helena from there. Your baby can be born there safely. I’m sure my aunt will help you get settled. Do you have any relatives? Anyone you could contact, who you could stay with?” The questions seemed more of an afterthought.
“Back east, somewhere.” Danica shrugged, and cleared her throat. “I have an aunt. I’ve never met her.” She swiped at some invisible dirt on the front of her buckskin dress, keeping her eyes focused on her belly, afraid of what he might see written on her face if she continued to look at him. Her baby’s birth was the last thing on her mind at the moment. She almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of her thoughts. You’re as round as a whiskey barrel, Dani. No man in his right mind is going to see you as a desirable woman. Especially not the man standing next to you. She hastily wiped a few strands of hair from her flushed face.
“When did you want to leave?” she asked with as much cheer as she could muster. At least he wasn’t completely abandoning her. The idea of finding her own way to Helena if he hadn’t offered to take her wasn’t appealing. If Josh was willing to go out of his way to take her there, she certainly wouldn’t decline his offer. She knew spending time with him would be difficult. She didn’t know how much longer she’d be able to conceal her feelings for him. What would he do or say if he knew? He’d probably laugh in her face.
“As soon as you’re ready, we can go,” Josh replied, and picked up both empty skillets off the table. He carried them to the washbasin, and dropped them in with a loud clank.
Danica turned and watched his back for a moment, then left the kitchen and ambled down the hall to the bedroom. She needed to get away from him, put some distance between them for the moment. Closing the door, she leaned against it, and a sigh escaped from deep within her. She fanned her hand in front of her face. Despite the chill in the house, her body acted like an overheated stove. She guessed it had to do with her pregnancy. Why else would she feel all flushed in the dead of winter? As if the baby knew she’d been thinking about him, her child kicked her violently under her ribcage.
“I’m not blaming you,” she said, placing a hand over her stomach, and glancing at her abdomen. “You’re so feisty now, I wonder what you’ll be like when you’re born. You’ve been giving your mama nothing but trouble lately.”
Reluctantly, she pushed herself away from the door. The bed looked inviting. She’d woken before dawn to a full bladder and growling stomach, and set out to find someone in town who might sell her some food. The saloon had been the only open business, and Danica had hoped not to run into her father. She had no desire for another confrontation with him. Would he change his mind about her if she showed up on his doorstep with her baby months, or even years from now? She had no desire to find out. The way he’d treated her yesterday, he didn’t deserve to know his grandchild. His accusations had hurt deeply. He had no idea how wrong he was about her.
Her baby would grow up without knowing his family, she realized. She would make sure he didn’t want for love and attention. To her father, she was all but dead. He’d always doted on her brother. Danica scuffed. Perhaps if she’d been born a male, her father would love her, too.
Danica opened her traveling bag, and pulled a brush and some ribbon from it. Systematically, she worked the knots and snarls out of her hair, and tied the ribbon around it at the base of her neck. Looking in her handheld mirror, she barely recognized the person staring back at her. Dirt smudged her face, or was she simply more tanned from all the months she’d spent in the harsh sun? The freckles that sprinkled her nose and cheeks that she’d always hated seemed more prominent. She would have to use some water from the kitchen pump to wash her face. Maybe it was just dirt that made them stand out more.
She yearned for a bath with warm water, a luxury she hadn’t had in months. Since her capture, she had to be content with quick dips in a frigid river. As her pregnancy became more pronounced, submersing herself in water felt good, if only the water had been warm. She chuckled. Now, she probably couldn’t even get in and out of a tub.
Danica stuffed her brush and mirror back in the bag. With a groan, she bent forward awkwardly, and lifted it off the ground, but only managed to set it on the bed. Pain shot through her back. Someone jabbing hot needles through the base of her spine couldn’t feel any worse. A sharp tingle radiated down the outside of her left thigh, making her go weak in the knee.
“Great,” she mumbled, rubbing at her spine. “I’m turning into a complete invalid.” The idea of traveling with Josh, completely useless and unable to pull her fair share didn’t sit well. He already thought so little of her, and now she’d just be like an anchor to him, slowing him down. Helena might be an eight day trip for him, but what if it took longer because of her? Had he figured that into his time line? She didn’t relish the idea of more days traveling through the wilderness. She’d done enough of that over the months, and the simple act of moving around became more difficult with each day that passed.
“Dani, you ‘bout ready?” Josh’s voice droned from outside the door. She parted her lips and blew air up into her flushed face. Time to get moving again. She eyed the bed longingly.
”Yes, coming,” she called. She hooked both hands through the bag’s carrying straps, and heaved if off the bed. Danica turned too quickly, offsetting her center of gravity. Sidestepping to regain her balance, her toe caught the heel of her right foot. She screeched in surprise, and released her hold on the bag. Her hands shot out in front of her just in time to break her fall. The bedroom door banged against the wall with a loud thud. Sprawled on the floor, her fall cushioned by her carpetbag, she raised her head. She groaned when Josh rushed through the door, a murderous look on his face. Instantly, he was at her side, leaning over her. His strong arms lifted her off the ground, and set her on her feet.
“Dani. Are you all right?” His voice sounded strained. Danica grabbed his shoulders to steady her feet. His arms reached around her wide girth, pinning her stomach snugly against his flat abdomen.
“I . . . I’m fine,” she stammered. Heat crept up her neck and into her face. When was the last time anyone had held her in a protective embrace? She’d had to rely on her own inner strength for so long, it felt like heaven to have Josh’s arms around her, even if it wasn’t a lover’s embrace. At least she could pretend, if only for a moment. The room spun around her, and bright dots of light danced before her eyes. She blinked to fight off the dizziness. Damn! He would probably reconsider his offer to take her with him now.
“Here, sit down.” A firm hand on her lower back guided her to the bed. He flinched when her hand came too close to his wound, and she slid her hand down his chest, away from his injury.
“I’m sorry,” she gasped. “You shouldn’t have picked me up. Your shoulder—”
“Will be fine,” he interrupted. “It’s you that needs to be more careful. Sit.”
Danica stared up into his face. Her hands rested on his chest, and she didn’t want to break the contact. The momentary dizzine
ss disappeared as quickly as it had come on. Concern was written in Josh’s eyes. With gentle pressure on her shoulders, he pushed her to sit on the bed, and settled himself next to her. Reluctantly, she lowered her hands to her sides. His thigh brushed up against hers, and Danica thought she might faint after all. She couldn’t keep up this aloof pretense much longer if they continued to be so close. The feelings coursing through her whenever he touched her were more painful to bear than her baby kicking her insides to a pulp. Painful because she loved a man who would never return those feelings, someone who, even as he sat here next to her, couldn’t wait to be rid of her.
Josh placed a hand on her stomach, and she expelled the air from her lungs. “How’s the little one?” he asked.
The baby had been quiet throughout her fall. She laughed softly. “I think he likes living on the wild side. He must have enjoyed that little tumble, because he seems to be sound asleep.”
“You sure everything’s all right?” The pressure of his hand on her belly increased.
“I didn’t fall on my stomach,” Danica whispered, staring at the hand on her belly and savoring his touch, even though she knew it wasn’t for her.
Josh stood abruptly, leaving a cold and empty void in his wake. Danica watched his back. The way he stood with his shoulders back, she could tell that he was tense again. He ran his hand through his raven hair, then turned to face her. All softness had left his features, and his lips were drawn in a tight line. She definitely liked relaxed Josh better.
“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”
“What?” She asked in alarm. “You can’t leave me here.”
“You’re in no condition to travel for a week,” he scoffed. “What if something happens to you?”
Danica scoffed. “Then you’ll be rid of me all the sooner.”
Josh scowled, and paced the space in front of her, one hand holding the back of his head.
“Should I check your wounds before we leave?” she asked, and pushed herself off the mattress. She wasn’t about to give him any more time to think things over. Josh stopped moving, and his eyes narrowed as he stared at her. She was going with him, whether he wanted her to, or not. Determined not to allow him to intimidate her, she walked up to him. Something was different about him today than in the past few days since he found her hovering under that lodgepole tree. The fever that had ravaged him, and rendered him weak as a newborn baby was gone. Although his wounds still caused him pain, his eyes were sharp and clear. There was no doubt in her mind that, had the Josh Osborne who stood before her now met her father yesterday, she would not be Mrs. Danica Osborne at this time. Or any other time, Dani.
Standing before him, as close as possible without her stomach touching him, she reached her hands up to loosen the strings on his shirt, intent on examining his shoulder.
“The bandage is fine,” he growled, his hands encircling her wrists to stop her actions. Raising her head, she lost herself in the depths of his dark eyes. Josh’s forehead wrinkled, confusion written all over his face. His jaw clenched, and he took a step back, releasing her hands.
“I’m going with you,” she said in what she hoped was a firm and steady voice.
He cleared his throat. “Wait here. I’ll be back within an hour.” He turned abruptly and strode out of the room.
“Where are you going?” she called after him. She didn’t receive an answer. What was he up to? Seconds later, the door in the kitchen slammed shut. Danica inhaled deeply, and glanced around the bare room. She stepped back to the bed, and sank ungracefully onto the mattress, the deerskin dress she wore pulled tight around her legs. The thought that Josh wouldn’t return had crossed her mind, but he didn’t seem the type of man who would lie to her face. He said he’d be back, and she believed him.
*****
“Dani?” Josh called when, an hour later, he walked through the kitchen door. It took a while, but he’d managed to find someone willing to sell him a halfway decent saddle horse. After Dani’s fall, he’d realized they’d never make it to his cabin along the Madison River with just his horse. Last night, he thought to take her with him, and head to Helena from a southern direction. He hadn’t considered how difficult it would be with only one mount. Riding double was out of the question. Dani was a strong woman, both in body and mind. He had no doubt she could travel through the mountains. Her advanced pregnancy, however, might make it near impossible for her.
What if her baby decided to come early? Josh didn’t even want to think about the possibility. She’d told him it would be another month. Plenty of time to get her to Helena.
“Dani?” he called again, peering through the kitchen into the living room. He wanted to be on the trail hours ago. She didn’t answer his call. Adrenaline flooded his system. Had something happened to her during his absence? Josh rushed through the living room and down the hall. He pushed open the bedroom door, and quickly scanned the room. His eyes fell on the bed, and he expelled a breath of relief. That odd fluttering returned to his chest that he’d experienced earlier when he saw her standing in the kitchen.
His gaze lingered on the sleeping woman. Her back was turned to him, her knees drawn up close to her round body. The ribbon she had tied in her hair had come loose, and her blonde mane spilled down her back. Josh’s lips twitched. The fiery, independent little woman he knew looked so vulnerable in sleep.
Silently, he moved closer to the bed. The deerskin dress pulled tight around her back, shaping itself to the contours of her curves. Josh stood over her, watching her chest move softly in a steady cadence. His hand, with a mind of its own, reached out and scooped up a handful of her golden tresses, and he let the silky strands run through his fingers. His gut tightened, and the blood rushed to his loins. What the hell? Shocked at his reaction, he stepped away from her and turned his back.
She’s with child! When’s the last time you’ve been with a woman, Running Wolf? It hadn’t been that long ago. How could a pregnant woman cause such a response in him? He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. The memory of her expressive emerald eyes flashed before him. They could shoot daggers at him in anger one moment, then shimmer with vulnerability the next.
What the hell was going on here? The fever must have really addled his brains. Slowly, he turned to look at her again. She hadn’t moved. He hated to wake her, but they needed to be gone from here. If he had any sense left, he’d just walk out that door and never look back. He could put a good thirty miles between himself and Danica Jensen before nightfall. Jensen. Legally, she now shared his last name. But it was only temporary. This marriage would be dissolved in a matter of a few weeks, as if it had never happened. He wouldn’t think of her as anyone other than Dani Jensen.
Admittedly, she’d somehow crawled under his skin in a way he couldn’t figure out. His physical reaction to her disturbed him. He wasn’t attracted to this type of woman. Hell, he’d seen Kate Russell wrapped in nothing but a scant towel, before she was married to his cousin, and that vision hadn’t aroused him. And she was a beautiful woman, even by his standards. Josh’s eyes scanned Dani’s sleeping form again. Admittedly, she was a beautiful woman, too. And she’s your wife. The idea of ever getting hitched had never entered his mind. The life he led, he couldn’t be tied down to a woman. It was a crazy idea.
Dammit, Josh. What are you going to do? There was only one thing to do, he answered his own question. Get her to Helena as quickly as possible.
Chapter 9
Danica gritted her teeth and adjusted her seat in the saddle. She tried scooting forward to alleviate the dull ache in her buttocks and thigh muscles, but her protruding stomach bumped into the saddle horn each time she managed a slight adjustment. She couldn’t decide which was more uncomfortable – the stiff saddle horn jabbing into her gut, or the tightness in her legs. At least her carpetbag, which was tied to the back of her saddle, gave her a small amount of support to lean against.
Three days ago, she’d been eager to leave Virginia City. At th
is moment, she longed for the soft mattress in Sarah Russell’s former home. It had been the only real bed she’d slept in in more than eight months.
She pulled the blanket she kept wrapped around her shoulders more firmly in place, clutching it with one frozen hand, while holding the reins in the other. The icy March winds howled across the tundra, and Danica wondered if she’d ever be warm again. Although the moccasins she wore were lined with soft rabbit fur, her toes tingled from the cold.
She squinted her eyes, tears rolling down her cheeks from the constant gusts of winter’s onslaught. Several paces ahead, Josh sat his horse tall and proud, seemingly unaffected by the weather. His single blanket was rolled up and slung over one shoulder over his buffalo robe. The point of his rifle was just visible held in the crook of his arm. Looking at his backside, she was reminded of some of the warriors she’d encountered last summer while she was held captive. His raven hair whipped in the wind.
Danica had never viewed Josh as an Indian, and the notion that he was of mixed blood didn’t bother her. In her eyes, he was simply a man, handsome and unattainable. At this moment, however, if she didn’t know him, an Indian was exactly what he looked like from behind. All that was missing were a few feathers in his hair. Even his behavior over the course of the last three days, the further away they traveled from civilization, had turned more feral. He spoke to her only when necessary, and almost deliberately kept his distance from her. He had no choice but to assist her on and off the horse, but otherwise, he didn’t hover. Silently, he’d provided for her basic needs. Each night, he had found a sheltered area to camp, and kept the fire going to ward off some of the cold. To her amazement, he produced food each time they stopped. He’d leave camp after she was settled comfortably, and returned shortly with some animal he’d killed.
Danica suspected - no, she was sure - that she was slowing him down. He could probably cover twice the distance in the same amount of time without her. She kept quiet and did not complain about the long hours in the saddle, or the constant cold seeping into her bones. Although she yearned for rest, and the pains shooting though her back almost constantly over the course of the past day made it nearly unbearable to sit on her horse, she was determined to keep up with the pace he set. They had to be close to his cabin at this point. He’d told her it would take three days to get there. She didn’t know if he’d meant three days for him, or if he took dragging her along into account.
Yellowstone Dawn (Yellowstone Romance Series Book 4) Page 8
