“Is this your early morning exercise routine, or did a bear chase you up that tree?”
She glared down at him. “If you must know, I’m trying to get us some breakfast.”
“We’re eating pine needles?” He grinned up at her.
“I’m trying to reach that cluster of pine cones up in the higher branches. This is a white bark pine tree.”
Pine cones didn’t sound any more appetizing than pine needles. “Get down before you hurt yourself, angel.” Chase moved to stand directly under her. He sure didn’t want her falling out of that tree. He reached his hand up, and grabbed her ankle to keep her steady. Sarah shrieked, losing her balance. Apparently his intent had the opposite effect. Her arms flailed wildly in the air as she tried to prevent a fall. It was no use. She toppled out of the tree. Fly in to my arms, angel. He was ready for her below. He held his arms out and caught her, cradling her against his chest.
“What are you doing?” she gasped.
His face grew serious. “Keeping you from breaking that pretty neck of yours,” he said.
Chase swallowed, mesmerized by her blue eyes. His chest tightened while he held her up against him, until she squirmed in his arms. Reluctantly, he set her feet on the ground. Her eyes turned wide as saucers, and she drew in a sharp breath. Chase grudgingly released her completely, his hand lingering at her waist. He wanted to kiss her. She was close enough that he could, but he held back.
Russell, you’re embarrassing her. The only time she acted unsure of herself was in his presence. Didn’t she ever have a boyfriend or whatever they called it in this day?
He cleared his throat. “Which pine cones are you trying to get?” he asked, putting some distance between them, trying to act unaffected by her nearness.
Sarah stepped back, and looked up, pointing. Chase’s eyes followed her line of vision. “See that branch up there? It has quite a few cones on it.”
Chase pulled the tomahawk from his belt. Stepping a few paces out from the tree, he aimed and threw the ax. It sliced cleanly through the thin branch. Both branch and ax landed on the ground with a thud.
“Where did you learn to throw with such accuracy?” Sarah asked. The admiration in her eyes warmed him to the core.
“It’s a quarterback’s job to throw the ball to the receiver. If the throw isn’t accurate, the ball could end up in the hands of the opposing team.”
“Quarterback?” Her forehead wrinkled.
How could he explain football to her? “Yeah, a quarterback is sort of the leader of the team. He makes decisions to get the ball in the hands of his teammates to score points. His teammates have to defend him and the ball from the opposing team.”
“I don’t understand this game,” Sarah shook her head. She bent down and picked the pine cones off the branch.
Chase reached out his hand. “Here, I’ll take some of those.”
She glanced up at him, and held his gaze for a moment. Then she handed him a half dozen cones.
“So, how do we eat these?” Chase rotated an egg-sized cone between two fingers. It was hard as a rock.
Sarah laughed. “You don’t eat the cone. The pine nuts inside is what we’re after.”
“Oh.”
“Come. I will show you an easy way to get the cones to open and release the nuts.” She headed off back to camp. Chase shook his head, and followed. Never in a million years would it have occurred to him to look for pine cones as a source of nourishment. First roots from a flower, and now this. He’d never be able to survive here.
The campfire had burned to simmering coals. She threw her pine cones on top of the hot ashes and gestured for Chase to do the same. He watched in amazement as the pine cones burst open, one by one, just like popcorn. Sarah pulled them back out with her stick, and picked the seeds out of the centers.
“It doesn’t look like a lot,” she said, offering him a handful, “but they are very nourishing.”
Chase popped them in his mouth. He wasn’t too keen on nuts, but his stomach growled loudly.
“Not bad,” he said, chewing the crunchy corn-kernel sized seeds.
Sarah rolled up her blanket, kicked some dirt on the ashes to completely douse the fire, and picked up her weapons. He followed suite, shouldering his rolled up blanket.
“Will we get back to Madison today?” he asked.
“You decide,” Sarah answered.
“Let’s take it slow,” he said, falling in step beside her when she headed out away from the canyon. He glanced over his shoulder once more at the deep scar in the earth. With a determined set of his jaw, he turned his head and stared straight ahead.
*****
Sarah led the way west. She followed a different path than the way they’d come. It would mean camping out one more night, but even she didn’t want to repeat the same brutal trek from two days ago. The way led through mountainous lodgepole forest, and lush green meadows. Sometimes she had to alter course when the area became too marshy. Not much was said by either of them for most of the day. Chase seemed to be absorbed with his own thoughts, and Sarah didn’t wish to bother him.
She found berries along the way for them to eat, and Grizzly had stirred up several ptarmigans in the tall grasses. She’d killed two, which would make a nice supper when they stopped for the night.
Her own thoughts wandered to the man who walked tirelessly next to her. He continued to amaze her. For someone unaccustomed to the wilderness, he had taken to it remarkably well. His dismal survival skills nagged at her, but he learned fast, and seemed to remember everything she’d told him the last few days. He had no problem starting a fire when they set up camp along a shallow tributary of the Little Buffalo River, and he even plucked and cleaned one of the birds, and skewered it to hang over the fire.
It was still early, and the sun slowly descended into the western horizon. They had eaten their meal, and Chase had wandered a short distance from camp, Grizzly at his heels. She smiled, watching this big man play with her dog, repeatedly throwing a stick for him. Grizzly wagged his tail, and barked happily, retrieving the stick each time to continue the game.
Sarah sat by the fire, unbraiding her hair, and ran her hands through her thick tresses. Tomorrow, when they reached home, she would need a bath. She only hoped Chase would give her the privacy she required. Apprehension filled her at the thought of bathing with the knowledge that he would be so close by.
A branch snapped in the trees behind her. Sarah whirled around, her knife drawn instinctively. A man emerged from behind the forest.
“Hello the camp,” he called.
Sarah stood, and darted a nervous glance towards the creek. Chase and Grizzly had wandered further downstream.
“Hello yourself,” she answered, hoping her voice sounded steady. The man came closer. She recognized him, and her heart leapt up her throat. Jean-Luc Briard! This man had pursued her like a fly on fresh bison dung the entire four weeks at rendezvous last year. Her brother Matthew had almost gotten into a fist fight with him.
Jean-Luc scratched his stubbly black beard, and a wide grin formed on his face. “Sarah Osborne!” he exclaimed. “What a pleasure.” He licked his lips, as if in anticipation of a delicious meal. “Might I join your camp?”
What could she say? She nodded hesitantly.
The man’s eyes darted around. “Surely you are not here by yourself,” he said in mock outrage. “Where is your father, or one of those twin brothers of yours?” His smile brought bile to her throat.
“I am not here alone,” she said, raising her chin. “My….my man will return shortly.”
Jean Luc’s eyebrows raised. “Your man? Daniel Osborne has finally found someone worthy of his daughter?”
Sarah ignored his sarcastic question. She gripped her knife with a firm hand, holding it in front of her, and dared not take her eyes off this man. He was looking at her like a coyote ready to feast on an unguarded elk carcass. She made sure she kept the fire between herself and him.
Where was C
hase? He might not know how to protect her from Jean Luc, if this vile man made advances towards her, but merely his presence should be enough of a deterrent.
“I have no food to offer you,” she said, hoping he would be on his way.
“Oh, just the company is enough for a man to rest here for a while,” he drawled.
Sarah swallowed nervously. “I….I’ll be back momentarily,” she said, and headed towards the creek where she’d last seen Chase. Jean Luc darted in front of her. “You can entertain me while we wait for your man to return,” he said in a deep voice.
Sarah could smell the stench of rotten teeth on him. She quickly raised her knife in front of her. “Let me pass,” she said firmly. She pushed at him with her elbow and moved to the right to pass, when his hand snaked out and grabbed her wrist. He twisted it and squeezed tightly, forcing her to drop her knife.
“I have dreamed of you over the long winter months, Sarah. Do you know that?” He yanked her up against his chest. Sarah turned her face and squeezed her eyes shut. She could feel the rough whiskers of his beard scraping her cheek. “The way you teased and tormented me last summer. I know you wanted me, too. But your family wouldn’t give us a moment’s time alone.”
She frantically shook her head. “You are mistaken, Jean Luc. I have no such feelings for you.”
“Is there a problem here?”
Sarah’s knees went weak with relief, and she turned her head at the sound of Chase’s voice. Grizzly growled loudly from behind her, and Chase patted the dog’s head to quiet him. Jean Luc released her, and slowly moved away.. Chase’s heated stare darted from her to the much shorter Frenchman. Jean Luc’s eyes went wide.
“You didn’t tell me you were meeting your boyfriend here, Sarah,” Chase said. Her forehead wrinkled. She didn’t know what he meant.
“You are her man?” Jean Luc asked, and Sarah could hear the uncertainty in his voice. He seemed to take the big man’s measure. Sarah bit her lip. What would Chase say? Would he protect her honor?
Chase’s eyebrows rose at the man’s question, and he shot Sarah a quick look. “Yeah, I guess you could say that,” he answered slowly. Then he reached his hand out, “Come here, sweetheart.”
Sarah darted around Jean Luc, and took hold of Chase’s hand. He pulled her up close to him and wrapped an arm around her waist. Despite the tension in the air, her body reacted to his nearness. Warm tingles surged along every nerve ending that made contact with his solid body.
“Maybe you should go and find your own spot to camp,” Chase suggested casually. Sarah could feel his muscles tense. “Me and the….little woman here like our privacy. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?” He flashed her a wide grin, and she nodded her head slightly. Chase leaned over and kissed her on the mouth. Her senses overflowed. Shocked at first, she dared not pull away from him this time. She couldn’t inhale a deep enough breath, and her heart hammered against her ribs. Chase’s lips moved against hers, and his hold around her waist tightened. Mortified, her body seemed to have a will of its own when she leaned closer to him. Her lips parted slightly, and her hand came up to rest against his heart.
Short coughing sounds behind her brought her back to her senses. Chase loosened the hold around her waist, but maintained contact.
“My apologies,” Jean Luc said, his eyes cold and twitching. Sarah tensed, and gripped Chase’s arm. “I will be on my way then.”
Jean Luc picked up the rifle he had dropped on the ground, and looked to head for the trees. Suddenly he wheeled around, and raised the flintlock, aiming it at Chase. Grizzly growled deeply, and Sarah saw movement out of the corner of her eyes. Her dog leapt into action, and ran at Jean Luc. With a loud snarl, he lunged at the man. The sound of a gunshot mixed with the high pitched whine of a dog in pain. Sarah’s heart dropped.
“No!” Her eyes widened in horror. The giant dog fell on top of the Frenchman, knocking him to the ground with a loud thud, and a cracking sound like rock hitting rock. Both bodies lay limp and motionless.
Sarah ran to her dog. “Grizzly, no.” She fell to her knees, her hands buried in the dog’s thick fur, combing over his body. Her vision blurred, and she wiped a hasty hand over her eyes. Chase came up beside her.
“Is he dead?” Chase’s voice sounded somber.
Sarah shot a quick glance at Jean Luc, who lay perfectly still underneath the giant dog, his head turned at an odd angle. Blood oozed from a spot on his head that made contact with a large rock on the ground. The man’s mouth was half-open, his eyes frozen in shock.
“Yes, he’s dead,” she spat, not hiding the bitterness in her voice.
“Not that creep. The dog,” Chase said, his voice raised.
Sarah sniffed. She continued to feel along Grizzly’s ribcage. She felt a slight movement. The dog stirred, and let out a low moan, like a primordial howl, deep in his chest.
“No,” she gave a quick laugh. Relief eased the tension and sinking feeling in her. “I have to find his wound.” She looked up at Chase,. His mouth was drawn in a tight line, and his jaw muscles moved along the sides of his face. She’d never seen him with such a serious expression.
Chase’ arms reached for the dog. “Here, let me move him off that piece of shit.” He ran his hands under Grizzly’s body, and lifted him off Jean Luc. Gently, Chase carried the dog and placed him on his blanket by the fire. The venom in his spoken words touched her to the core.
Grizzly dog-paddled with all four legs, trying to right himself from his lateral position. He lay dazed, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth, but he was able to remain laying in an upright position.
Sarah knelt down beside him. “There,” she pointed to Grizzly’s head. “The shot grazed his skull. It’s only a flesh wound. It must have knocked him out momentarily.” She wrapped her arms around the dog’s furry neck, and he whined softly.
“He saved my life,” Chase said solemnly. He knelt down beside her, and stroked the dog’s back. Sarah studied him. The boyish demeanor she was used to seeing was completely replaced with that of a hardened man. Their eyes met, and she smiled softly, blinking away fresh tears. Chase’s eyes darkened. His hand came up, his fingers grazing her cheek.
“Sarah…,” he whispered, his voice trailing off. He leaned towards her. His touch was so gentle, she wanted to give in to her body’s desire to lean into him. Pulling away, she rose quickly to her feet.
“I…I need to get fresh water to clean Grizzly’s wound,” she spun around to head towards the creek.
“What are we going to do with the dead guy?” Chase called after her.
Sarah turned. “Take him downstream, and drop him in the water,” she said coldly. Chase walked towards her. She braced herself, her heart rate increasing.
“You sure you want to pollute the water with him?” Chase asked.
“The current will carry him away from here. A dead body will only attract predators.”
“Who was he?” His heated gaze scorched her from the inside out.
“Just a trapper,” Sarah shrugged, and glanced over at the body on the ground. “He made undue advances towards me last year at rendezvous. My brothers and father kept him away from me.” She looked up and met Chase’s eyes. When had he moved so close to her? She could feel the heat coming off his body. “Thank you for letting him believe you were my man,” she whispered.
“Any time,” he said, his tone husky. “Jerks like that exist in my time, too.” He clenched his jaw, then turned back to where Grizzly lay on the blanket. He touched the dog’s head, and Grizzly whined softly. “Better go get that water, angel.”
Chapter 12
By mid-afternoon the following day, the Gibbon River Canyon they’d been traversing widened. Coming over a low rise into the valley, Chase spotted the log structures of Sarah’s home. The large cabin sat nestled against some pines at the base of a steep incline that led to more forest. It was strategically built to offer a spectacular view of the valley, just across the bend in the Madison River, and the ste
ep mountain rising beyond the opposite bank. The smaller cabin sat a short distance away. There was no other hint of civilization. Two weeks ago, he remembered the meadow busy with families enjoying a few days away from their otherwise hectic lives. Fly fishermen had waded in the Madison, casting their lures in hopes of landing that big trout.
Chase groaned, and shifted the giant dog in his arms. Grizzly had survived his heroic act of protecting him from getting shot by that trapper, and his wound didn’t appear all that serious. It had left him weak and dazed, however. While he was able to walk short distances, the dog stopped frequently and refused to follow Sarah any further. Chase had carried the animal most of the way here. He was glad to finally be able to lighten his load once they’d reach the cabin. The dog had to weigh a hundred pounds, if not more, but it was the least he could do for this animal that had saved his life.
“Why don’t you let him walk the rest of the way?”
Sarah’s softly spoken words jolted him out of his memories of last night, when he returned from the creek to find that scum touching her. His first impulse had been to grab the neck of the short little weasel and knock him into next week, but he’d decided to play it cool instead. He now wished he had done the former. Then the dog wouldn’t have gotten shot.
He’d been happy to play along and pretend to be Sarah’s husband. He assumed that’s what the weasel had meant when he called him Sarah’s man. Never one to miss an opportunity, Chase had seized on the chance to kiss her. He had wanted to do that for days, and the opportunity had presented itself. The way she responded to him came as a complete surprise. He vowed that the next time he kissed her, it would be under different circumstances.
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