by Jeanne Rose
The mention of the bandits, a group of armed men in the vicinity, made Sam a bit nervous, however. He glanced at a steep slope some yards away. "Think I'll take a climb and see if I can catch a glimpse of the surrounding area."
"Not a bad idea," Ryerson agreed.
In the end, Jake stayed with the horses while everyone else scrambled up the mountainside. Some ways up, they got a clear view of the surrounding terrain and gazed out upon a bizarre sight. The dark clouds roiling on the horizon were partially made up of dust, billows of dirt rising from the steaming, half-filled hollow where the canyon had once been.
"I'll be damned," breathed Shorty. "Them Aztec people and their city has up and disappeared."
Arms crossed over his muscular bare chest, Ryerson looked like some kind of ancient warrior himself. "Either the earthquake destroyed everything...or the old gods did."
Including the lay of the land immediately surrounding the hidden barranca. It was at least a mile out before the foothills and mountains rolled to the horizon undisturbed.
Very strange.
Sam's neck prickled. Trying to ignore the sensation, he scanned the surrounding countryside. "I don't see anything of the bandits."
"Don't think you will," said Ryerson. "They're headed for home, wherever that is."
"Then we're safe." Louisa slipped her hand into Sam's.
"Safer than we were before...in more than one way," agreed Ryerson. "The death spirits went back where they came from. Quetzalcoatl and his fifth sun were destroyed." He fingered a silver chain that he'd drawn from the waistband of his loincloth. "Not that death is really evil, not unless you worship it. It's the natural end for things."
"But Montgomery and his friends were trying to bring about unnatural endings," said Louisa. "They were murdering people."
"And they finally got kilt themselves and by nature," said Shorty. "Kind of justice-like, don't you think?"
Sam remained reflective as he scrutinized the scene before them, simply holding Louisa against his side. A bright streak of lightning zigzagged across the western sky.
"That storm is coming our way." Ryerson gestured. "Coming slow but it'll be here by dark. It's gonna rain, hard. We should take cover."
"You need some cover yourself." Louisa looked him over. "At least a blanket to wear." Then she noticed the silver chain necklace her brother was playing with. "What's that?"
Ryerson quickly pushed the necklace back in his waistband. "A mirror."
"That was Xosi's, wasn't it?"
"Yeah."
The big man headed back down the mountainside. From the way he was acting, Sam could swear Ryerson was covering up some kind of uncomfortable secret. Not that he'd ask about it, being a man who'd had plenty of secrets himself. Thank God he'd finally lightened his conscience a little by talking things over with Louisa.
He helped Ryerson and Louisa secure the horses as the two cowboys built a temporary shelter by laying brush across the top of a cluster of boulders.
The storm was coming, nature's wrath.
Though after what they'd been through with twisted human beings, natural dangers didn't seem so terrible.
ALL IN ALL, nature had been kind, Louisa decided several days after they'd started the trail back to the Rio Grande. The thunderstorm following the earthquake had made the travelers a mite uncomfortable when it had poured down on them, even leaking into their shelter, but the rain had filled the rivers and the potholes. There was plenty of water available and green shoots for the horses to eat. Even the desert plateau east of the mountains flourished.
The life spirits were celebrating.
Louisa herself had been saying little prayers of thanks. Remembering her vision when she'd faced down Beaufort Montgomery, the way she'd whooped like a warrior before running him over with the horses, she wondered about the ghost of her father and had shyly shared her experience with Monte. Her brother had smiled and said that Red Knife had been with her, that her actions had been pure Comanche.
They'd had quite a few opportunities to talk about Comanches and everything else the last few days. Whereas they'd traveled hard with the bandits before, the party of five now took their time, saving their mounts. Plus they had to search for food, scouring the terrain for game and roots and edible cacti. Thank goodness Monte knew how to survive in the desert.
"Did you learn about living off the land from the Comanche?" Louisa asked him as they rode along one afternoon.
Brother and sister were relatively alone, Sam and the two cowboys having gone off to hunt some peccaries when they'd spotted a small herd of the wild pigs.
"The Comanche traveled light. They found their food as they went along." And Monte pointed out, "Sam knows something about living off the desert, too. He led troopers on plenty of campaigns in Arizona."
"You talked to him about that?"
"What else are you gonna do but talk when you're traveling day after day?"
True. Louisa had enjoyed hearing about Ginnie and Cassie and Stephen. "I want to meet your kids." Though that would have to be in the future, already having agreed they'd have to split up when they reached Texas. "I bet I could teach them a few things, especially the girls."
That brought a smile to Monte's face. "Maybe you could. Then again, they're pretty wild on their own." He sobered. "Hope they didn't get into too much trouble while I was gone. I hated going off and leaving them the way I did."
And he probably felt guilty about it, Louisa surmised, certain she noted sadness in Monte's dark eyes. To tell the truth, she'd swear there'd been something bothering him ever since they'd escaped Beaufort Montgomery's canyon.
"I'm sure you wouldn't do anything you didn't feel was necessary."
The line of his jaw remained hard, his lips tight. "Yeah, I was supposed to bring back Roberto and Shorty. Only got one of them. Don't know what I'm gonna tell Roberto's family."
"None of us could have saved him."
"Maybe not." But he sounded uncertain.
"Guilt eats away at your insides like poison," she told him. Something she was already dealing with in Sam's case. "You have to get rid of it."
"Um, hmm."
She could tell he wasn't taking her seriously. So she reiterated, "You have to forgive yourself."
"Already have...at least as far as Roberto's concerned."
She frowned. What else was bothering him? Hoping not to offend, she tried to bring him out. "Do you feel responsible for something else?"
"Real responsible...for someone." His haunted gaze reminded her of Sam. "I probably gave Xosi the idea of walking up that pyramid in the first place." But before Louisa could force a further confession, he leaned over to pat her on the shoulder. "Don't worry about me, little sister. Sometimes poisons have a way of working themselves out on their own."
So he felt guilty over Xosi. She'd wondered about Monte's connection to the woman, who'd been very flirtatious with him. Sam and the other two men approaching took her mind off the situation.
Sam waved, grinning, "Pork chops for supper tonight."
Louisa grinned back, the man she loved always a sight that warmed her heart. They may have had a very limited menu for the return journey, but she'd had a wonderful time just being with Sam, cherishing every moment they spent together.
Though what would happen in the future, she wasn't sure.
Brooding a little on that, sobered by Monte's confession, knowing they were within two day's ride of Texas, she decided she'd talk to Sam as soon as they set up camp.
They stopped early, while the sun was still shining. Having retraced their steps, following the trail the bandits had taken into the western Sierra Madre, they found themselves in the same valley where Sam had first been captured and Louisa had poisoned the bandits with jimsonweed.
What made things different was the river bed. Dry before, it had become a torrent, swollen with rain from the mountains. The travelers would have to wait for the flood to go down.
Sam didn't seem worried and took Lo
uisa for a walk along the river banks. The rays of the setting sun gilded his blond hair, making the curls at the edge of his neckline gleam with gold. His fair skin tanned by years of living in the open, his muscles firm and rippling, he was handsomer than ever. Though Louisa had never minded it, his scar even seemed paler somehow.
The gurgling sound of rushing water adding a refreshing ambiance, they stopped in a sheltered, grassy nook some ways from camp.
Sam took her in his arms. "We can sleep here tonight."
They'd been sharing a bedroll almost every night anyhow, Sam having sought out privacy for them. He drew Louisa close, angled his head to kiss her. She ducked her head away,
"Something wrong?"
"Just thinking about the future."
"Well, all I can say is thank God we've got one."
Louisa had to admit that was important. "I'm happy we're alive and in one piece. But –"
"But what?"
"Now there's a few other things to consider. We're heading home." She chose her words carefully. "What then?"
"I'm resigning my commission. We'll never be parted again."
"Can you promise me that?"
"I can promise you my love forever."
Which touched her but still didn't answer her doubts. Plenty of women she'd known through her ma had loved men and even lived with them, yet never had a marriage license or a wedding ring. Louisa wasn't willing to do that.
Sam touched her cheek, tipped her chin up to gaze into her eyes. "My love isn't enough?"
Would he marry a woman who reminded him of someone he'd killed? Could he have babies with her, wake up with her every morning?
Louisa's misgivings deepened. She pushed away from him. "I can understand how you feel about the bad things that happened in the past."
"I haven't had a nightmare since I shared those bad things with you."
Which startled her. "Really?"
"Talking it out cleansed me somehow. I want to live and as fully as possible. I'll die when I have to but I'm not going to spend my time wishing I was dead before then." His tone tensed with emotion. "What are you worried about? That I'll expect you to cook, scrub floors, wash my clothing? I know you're not that type of woman, that you want to be outdoors. We can hire a housekeeper."
Part of Louisa was thrilled that he wanted to make some sort of commitment, that he accepted her as she was. But she needed even more. She swallowed the lump rising in her throat, fought against the desire to get her dander up and flounce away.
"I want children."
His expression softened, the blue-green of his eyes deepened to a smoky color. "That's fine by me. Two, a dozen, however many we end up with."
But he still hadn't said the right words. "You're the only man I've ever loved, Sam, but I don't want to be your mistress."
"Mistress?"
She hurried on, "I won't live with a man unless I'm married to him. And I'm certainly not going to have a pack of illegitimate children."
Sam raised his brows, looked disbelieving. "I would never bring children into the world without offering my name. It's a man's duty --"
"Duty!" The word scratched at Louisa. Despite her determination to keep her temper in check, it flared like a torch. "To hell with your stupid duty!" She whirled and stalked off.
But Sam came right after, easily keeping pace. "Louisa!"
"Go away!"
"Damned if I will!" He sounded just as angry as she was. "And I'm getting damned tired of chasing you around." He took hold of her arm, jerking her to a stop. "I've traveled half-way across Mexico for God's sake."
She glowered and shook him off. "Why can't you damned well ask me to marry you then? And because you want to, not because it's your duty!"
He looked surprised. "Of course I want to marry you."
She was now too angry to do anything but cross her arms over her chest. "I didn't hear any proposal."
"Is that what this is all about?" His expression changed. "Well, I guess I just didn't get around to it."
Making a disgusted sound, she started to stalk off again.
"Louisa!" Again, he caught up with her, demanding, "Stop, right now! This minute." He grabbed her arm, whipped her around, then fell to one knee. "I'm proposing...will you marry me?"
If she wasn't peeved, she'd probably laugh. He looked so funny, posed against a backdrop of mesquite and creosote brush.
His tense features softened. "I love you, Louisa, with all my heart. I want to marry you. Please say yes."
The emotion in his eyes made her knees go weak.
He assured her, "I don't have a ring but I'll buy one as soon as we get back to Santa Fe. Now, answer me --"
"Yes."
His face brightened. "Yes?"
"It's a woman's duty to accept a sincere proposal like yours." She laughed aloud at his sudden scowl. But she went to him, slid her arms about him as he got to his feet. "I was teasing." Then she spoke from her heart, intensely, passionately, "I love you so much, Sam. And I want nothing more than to share the rest of my life with you."
Their kiss was sweet, lingering, but soon spiraled into something far more demanding and fierce.
"H-rrmph."
Louisa stiffened and felt Sam tense as well.
When Monte cleared his throat a second time, even more
loudly, she broke off the kiss to find her brother standing nearby, watching them.
"If you two are finished entertaining me and the boys for the evening, I have a suggestion about this marriage thing."
Louisa was appalled. "You were eavesdropping?"
"Eavesdropping? Hell, your voices were echoing off the mountainsides." He turned to Sam. "I'm Louisa's next of kin. You need a marriage gift, not a ring. A few horses will do. That's the usual for a Comanche woman's relatives."
He couldn't be serious.
And Sam wasn't acting like it either. A smile hovered about his lips. "I only have one horse. She already took the others away from me a long time ago."
"Yeah?" Monte glanced at Louisa speculatively. "Stole 'em?"
"So to speak," said Sam.
Now Louisa laughed and she punched her man's arm. "I didn't steal anything. We bet the horses on some races and I won."
"Hmm." Monte looked thoughtful, finally shrugging. "Guess that'll have to count. You can keep the marriage gift yourself, little sister."
Louisa nodded. "They'll only be the beginning of my herd anyway. I want a thousand head." Just like Red Knife.
"A thousand?" asked Sam, raising his brows, registering some surprise. He glanced from Louisa to Monte, then back again. "I can see we're going into horse ranching seriously."
Monte laughed long and loud. "Come on back to camp and celebrate this deal with a drink. I've got about six swigs of whiskey in a flask in my saddlebags. Both the bandits and the Aztecs missed it somehow."
Celebrate.
Louisa's heart sang, winging high with the flight of a hawk overhead, flying with the wind. Sam loved her, wanted to marry her and they were headed home. She didn't think she'd ever been so happy before in all her life.
EVEN MONTE’S departure at the Texas border didn't seem to dampen Louisa's happiness. She told her brother that they couldn't really delay the wedding but they'd save a big fiesta for his arrival. Monte hugged her and promised to bring along her nephew and nieces. Then he also embraced Sam, who felt touched, if a little embarrassed.
Louisa smiled tremulously as she and Sam rode away. But she didn't cry and soon turned her big dark eyes on him. They were full of love. Sam was so happy about that, he felt like bursting. What a woman she was and how he'd deprived himself through the years. Well, that wouldn't happen again.
Extra protective, he was the first to notice riders on their trail some time after they'd entered New Mexico Territory. "We're going to need to take cover," he warned Louisa.
She turned in the saddle, sighting the dozen or so men raising dust behind them. "More bandits?"
Sam slid his rifle out of
its boot. "I don't know, but we can't take any chances."
They were riding the horses toward a rocky outcropping when Louisa gave a little cry. "The man in front! It's Chaco!" Before Sam could say anything, she wheeled El Tigre around, taking off at a gallop. "And Adolpho!"
Now Sam recognized the approaching figures, as well. The men whooped and shouted, rode full-out. He stiffened, fearing there'd be a collision but Louisa swerved the black at the last moment and fairly leaped from the saddle into Chaco's arms. The ex-gunslinger caught her, held her with her feet dangling. Now Louisa couldn't stop the tears from flowing. She was sniffling and trying to wipe them away when Sam caught up. Everyone had dismounted and she was hugging Adolpho, then Ben Riley.
Sam gazed at the latter with pleased surprise. "You're all right! What happened, man? Javier?"
"He's laid up but he'll live," Ben told him. "Took a bullet in the shoulder but I bandaged him up and we made it back to Texas where we found a doctor. I'm going back to get him when he's ready to travel." The sandy-haired young man looked sheepish. "I was left on my own. That's why I didn't follow, keep tracking you."
"You would have lost our trail anyway," said Sam. "We went deep into the west Sierra Madres. Nobody lives there but a few peasant farmers and Indians."
"Some of which are now dead Aztecs." To Chaco's questioning look, Louisa added, "It's a long story."
She was obviously far more interested in hearing about Amelia and Luz. Both were well, had recovered some days after she'd disappeared. Chaco and his party had set out after her then, criss-crossing the Rio Grande several times as they struggled to pick up the right trail. Frustrated by washed out tracks even Chaco had trouble interpreting, they'd come back to Texas one more time where they'd finally met up with Ben.
But it had been the insistence of some hombres they'd run into only hours before that had sent them flying north again. A man named Monte Ryerson had claimed Sam Strong and Louisa Janks were free and headed for Santa Fe.
"Monte Ryerson is my brother," Louisa told Chaco. And she laughed and waved more questions aside. "Another long story. Let's get going. I want to organize my wedding. Sam and I are getting married."
