Collection 1

by Therese A. Kramer

  A cheer was heard from Lulu, but the boys groaned. Lace rolled his tongue in his cheek amused, but had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing.

  “But your mama is very sick, so we need to help her for awhile.”

  “Yes, papa,” Garth touched his father’s shoulder. “I will see to the children and get them fed.” He turned to Lace, “Sir, you are welcome to stay. It’s just vegetable soup.”

  He accepted and that night he slept in the barn. The next day, he bought himself a beautiful mare and an old saddle that was lying around. He paid the rancher twice as much as the man asked.

  Lace spent the next two weeks searching the state of Wyoming. He camped out one night in a wooded area and woke up the next morning in thick fog, surrounded by six men. He recognized Gene, Geena’s father, who said, “You’re lucky we do not hang horse thrives!”

  Chapter Thirteen

  You can run but you can’t hide from your past…

  Your future has already been molded in life’s cast…

  “Geena, you have to snap out of your doldrums.” ordered her mother sternly before leaving her lodge. She shrugged tracing a crack in the wooden table with her finger. It’s been a little over two weeks since she and Fritz returned to camp. Her people had appeared with the thick mist again a month ago, and she had no idea how long they’d remain here. Spring had arrived and the hunting was good. Fritz wouldn’t have to rob anyone for awhile, so she was relieved, it just broke her heart thinking she would never see the man she loved again.

  Only a few days ago, she once more begged the elders to let her leave the camp, but they refused her wish once more. She was tempted to sneak away but she didn’t have the heart to leave her parents. If it weren’t for them taking her in and loving her as if she were their own, she would’ve died, left under a tree only a day old.

  Geena heard a commotion outside but she was too depressed to see what was going on. Nothing really concerned her much anymore. So into her self-inflicted pity party, she hadn’t realized the sun was descending and she heard her stomach rumble. Her mother had invited her to sup with them and she accepted, but only to keep the peace. Her father would definitely come and pull her out by her hair if she refused. With a deep sigh, she walked outside and entered her parent’s home.

  “Hello daughter,” greeted her father. Her mother was dishing out the meal and the woman nodded.

  “Hello papa.” She gave him a wry smile and sat down. They ate for awhile, no one spoke much and she thought that strange. Now curious and to have something to say, she asked, “What happened earlier? I heard a commotion outside.” She didn’t miss the strange look her parent’s gave one another. Something was wrong, she reflected.

  “Oh, a hunter came back with a large deer,” replied her father speaking into his food. She knew he wasn’t telling her the truth but she let it lay for now. There was a reason why they thought it was something she didn’t need not know; but she’d find out for herself.

  The next morning, Geena rose and went outside. The community was up and about doing their chores. She walked around and they smiled at her, but something was amiss. No one spoke much and they were looking at her kinda strangely. It was as if everyone was hiding something and she didn’t like the feeling in her gut. What the hell was going on?

  “Gene, I think we should tell our daughter that the man is here.”

  “No, wife, it’s best that she not know. The committee has him tied up in one of the elder’s home. Tonight, we’ll take him out of the forest and leave him.”

  “Oh, husband, Geena’s so sad. I’m afraid we’re doing the wrong thing. She loves that man to distraction. How would you feel if someone kept us apart?” she said placatingly.

  “She’s young, she’ll love again. One of her own kind,” Gene retorted. “Husband! That was an unsatisfactory answer at best. That man is her own kind! Have you forgotten she’s an outsider, also!”

  “Anna, I’ll hear no more! The elders have decided that the man goes and our daughter is not to know!”

  “And what’s to stop him from returning?” she asked despairingly.

  . “His food will be drugged and by the time he comes around, we’ll be gone.”

  “But, we just got here and this place is perfect,” she cried.

  “Sorry, my love, but the law is the law.”

  “Pah, damn the law!” Exasperation exploded from her in a muffled shriek.

  “Stop this Anna, you getting yourself all riled up and there’s nothing you can do.”

  We’ll just see about that!

  Anna was determined to see that her daughter was happy, even if it meant losing the girl. Her husband and the elders were playing cards in the community room, so she sneaked in the back door. There in the corner was the man trussed up like a turkey. She placed her fingers to her lips and tipped-toed closer, whispering, “You must not eat the food they give you tonight. Hide the plate behind the barrel of water, but you must pretend to be unconscious.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Why?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

  “It’s drugged. You’ll be taken out to the woods.”

  “Damn, I’ll come back.”

  “No, you have to wait there, marshal. Don’t come back. I promise you that things will be all right, just trust me.”

  “Where’s Geena? And I’m no longer a lawman. I didn‘t come here to arrest her.”

  This bit a news made her feel a little better. “She doesn’t know that you’re here.”

  “I love her Anna.”

  “I know and…”

  A noise outside the door made her heart skip. She quickly left, praying the man would do as she asked. If he tried to come back, it wouldn’t take long for her husband to figure out what she had done. Going against the law meant banishment; that was worse than death. Her next stop was at her daughter’s home. After a few light raps on the door, Geena answered.

  “Mama?”

  Anna slipped hurriedly inside and quickly said, “Child, do as I say and be quick about it.”

  “I don’t understand?” Her daughter’s brows drew together in a frown of confusion.

  “I don’t have time to explain it all honey, but pack a few of your belongings and saddle Turk. Leave the forest and hide.”

  “Heavens to Saint Pete! Mama, you’re frightening me, what’s going on?”

  “You’ll get your answer, but you must go now. I have no time to explain.” She gave her daughter a hug, blinked back hot tears, managed a smile, and prayed it wasn’t lopsided. She was sorry she couldn’t say more, but time was of the essence. “Remember that your father and I love you.” She shoved Geena towards the door. “Forget your things, just go. Hurry!”

  Anna closed the door and collapsed against it, letting the tears fall. In a million years she would have never dreamed that she’d have to say goodbye to the baby she raised as her own, and not like this. But Geena deserved happiness; the girl had taken care of the village since she was sixteen, after her father was shot in a holdup. She opened the door a crack and watched her child ride out of the camp. She was missing her already and the emptiness engulfed her body. About fifteen minutes later, she saw her husband and five of the elders take the man, in a wagon, out to the forest.

  Anna collapsed on the floor and cried her heart out.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sometimes you must give up part of your past…

  To find happiness in the future that will last…

  Geena fled from camp, so fearful and confused she thought her head would explode. Her mother had acted as if the camp was under attack. No one had ever attacked the People Of The Mist before. But then she had never brought an outsider here until she shot Lace.

  Had he found them and come back with a posse to arrest her?

  If he did, she’d turn around right now and fight him. No, she couldn’t risk putting others in danger. God, she rued the day she met him! All kids of crazy thoughts went through her dazed mind as she galloped through the mist.
Did Lace come back for revenge because she saved Fritz right from under his nose? Surely, he had not come looking for her because he loved her!

  Once in the clearing, she climbed off Turk and hid behind a boulder and waited but she had no idea what for. Had her mother wanted her to stay hidden until the danger passed? Oh, she should have insisted that the woman explain it all to her. Geena didn’t have to wait long before she saw a wagon, driven by her father, pull into the clearing. Three elders were in the back and two were on mounts.

  What the hell?

  She was just about to jump out to ask what was going on when the three in the back pushed something off the wagon. She held her breath. Event though her father was there, something warned her to stay behind the boulder. When they rode off, she ran up to the form lying in the dirt. It was dark, and she didn’t recognize Lace until she was practically on top of him. He was tied up and gagged, but he was doing his damndest to cry out.

  He had come looking for her! So that’s why her parents and friends were so closed mouth. They were protecting her. But why did her mother tell her to leave the village? Nothing made any sense except he had come to arrest her. Is that the reason her mother had her run and hide?

  Even though there was pandemonium inside her, governed by the rapid thuds of her heart, she wasn’t about to hide from him! Geena pulled the gag from his mouth and he cursed a blue streak. Believing his oaths were for her, she kicked him in the side and trembled with outrage.

  “Ow!” Son-of-a-bitch! He gave a grunt of disgust. “What was that for?”

  She considered his question before answering him. “I’m sorry I saved your retched ass! You ingrate. You maggot. I should leave you here for the wild animals but I’m a lady and---”

  “The hell you say! Untie me you foolish girl!” The man yelled in a voice thick with fury.

  “Foolish!” She kicked him again.

  “Cut that out. When I get my hands on you, I’ll whack your foolish backside. What’s wrong with you?”

  “Me? You came here to arrest me.” Tears gathered in her throat.

  “I did no such thing. Now untie me,” he ordered sharply.

  “I will not!” With a degree of smugness, she asked, “Do I have stupid written across my forehead. Huh?”

  He gave her a very definite snort. “You think I’d tell you the truth and risk a bruised rib. Now calm down. I came to tell you that I love you, you hot tempered female!”

  “Yeah right! You’ll say anything to get free.”

  “Geena, please, you’re trying my patience!”

  “Ah, poor baby.”

  “Damn it! Geena, it was your mother who warned me not to eat the food that was drugged. By the time I’d wake up, you’d all be gone again if I had eaten it.”

  She hardly heard, so bound up in her own thought she started to walk away.

  “Do you hear me? Your mother knew we were in love, that’s why she helped me. I love you, you foolish girl!”

  Geena stopped in her tracks and turned. Now it all made sense. With a heart wrenching gasp, she knelt by his side, and through tears, she untied him.

  “You really love me?” she rasped. Her joy was there, jumping up and down inside her but she didn’t dare let it show. She was too was afraid to let her guard down. He held her there on the damp ground and said, “I really do, but why, I don’t know. You shot me and now bruised a rib, is that anyway to treat someone who loves you? You have stolen my heart.” And with that declaration, he kissed her and their mouths melted together with hunger and heat.

  When Geena opened her eyes and looked up at his handsome face, how could she help but smile. “Say it again,” she touched his face, feeling the a few days growth of facial hairs.

  “You are foolish?”

  There was no annoyance in his statement, just truth simply expressed and she sighed. “Yes, I suppose I was foolish, but I was also confused.”

  “I’m sorry for all that I have put you through, my angel. I should’ve told you that day, in the shack that I loved you then. But I was also confused as to how to handle the predicament we were in. You were wanted and I had to abide the law. But now my darling, I’m no longer a marshal and we can go far away from here and start a new life.”

  She nodded and kissed him and when she opened her eyes the mist was gone and so was her family. They sat a long time on the hard ground as she wept bitter tears. Her mother had given her the one thing she couldn’t take for herself.

  Happiness with the man she loved.

  The End

  THE DUKE’S DAUGHTER

  Prologue

  “Oh, mommy,” she whined and her little cherry lips sucked out in a pout. “Don’t want to be a duchess; I want to be a witch, like you!”

  “Hush, child. And pull in your bottom lip Ranait Elise before our bird Pepper lands on it.”

  As if on cue, their big black raven squawked and flew over head.

  “Renny, mama. Not Ranait. You know I do not like Ranait!” she stuck out her small bottom lip again. “Shoo,” she waved her small hands about her head. “Aw, mommy, if you do not want me to be a witch, like you, why are you giving me books to read? Besides, all I have to do is snap my fingers and what I think about appears. Snap!” Pepper flew into the dungeon wall. “See, that nasty bird got what he deserved.”

  “One day, squawk, I’m going to crap on her head!” Pepper rubbed his noggin.

  “Ranait Elise Rayleigh,” Valda scolded her daughter. “That’s why you cannot follow in my footsteps. Your temper makes you do bad things. I just want you to read so you’ll prepared in case you need it to help someone or yourself. But, for only doing good, like myself.”

  Renny stuck her little tongue out at the bird and Valda let out a frustrated sigh. Her daughter had a mind of her own and she was only five. If she was a handful now what was going to happen when she was fully grown. Well, she wouldn’t fret over it now. Her son Victor came down saying that her husband the duke was looking for them. Victor was ten, and very handsome like his father; brown hair and eyes. And like his father, he was normal, thank goodness. Her son knew her secret, that she was a witch, but not her husband.

  She hadn’t wanted to tell Victor the truth, but he found out one day by accident when he walked in on his sister when she was having one of her tantrums. Ranait had tuned the cat into a statue because the feline scratched her. She had quickly changed the poor creature back and glanced up to see the boy standing there as white as a sheet, and he had soiled his breeches.

  Well, it took her quite a while to calm him down and she made him promise to keep the secret about her and his sister. He agreed, but it came with a price; she had to conjure up a pony. After that he was delighted to be the keeper of a secret but it cost her plenty in the way of bribes. Finally, Ranait threatened to turn him into frog if he squealed or blackmailed their mother again. Ranait was very smart for her age. Too damn smart, she thought. But then, her daughter did take after her in more ways than one. Besides, the witchcraft, Ranait had her raven hair and violet eyes.

  “Papa said he wants you two to join him in the garden.”

  Valda nodded. “All right dear, tell your father that we’ll join him shortly.”

  He frowned and asked, “Why is Pepper rubbing his head?”

  “Squawk! Your little sister is up to her old tricks, squawk!”

  “She’s no sister of mine!” her son snapped and ran, fearing his sibling’s temper.

  “You can run but you can’t hide,” she shouted after her brother and giggled.

  “Ranait, stop teasing Victor,” she scolded.

  “Aw, he’s just a stuffed shirt, like papa.”

  Valda asked. “Now young lady, watch your mouth or else!”

  “Squawk, wash it out with…Oh, never mind.” The raven few away but not fast enough. Renny snapped her fingers and puff all his feathers fell off. She convulsed in a fit of laughter that bounced off the stone walls. The poor bird stood trying to hide his nakedness with his bare wings.


  Valda rolled her eyes. What would happened when she was gone. Witches do not live forever and she was getting on in years. She was five hundred and twenty, but she didn’t look a day over forty. Why had she waited so long to marry? Oh, she knew why, she had never met a man who could make her feel like her Victor Rayleigh, The eighth Duke of Asbury.

  “Papa!” Ranait ran to her father and jumped onto his lap once they entered they garden. That child was the apple of her husband’s eye and her daughter knew it. The fragrance of roses filled the air and a Blue Jay was splashing in the birdbath. The sky was clear and it was a beautiful warm spring day.

  “Off, sweet pea, be careful,” her husband pushed Ranait’s knee from his groin and Valda had to smother a giggle. She may not want more children, but they still enjoyed love making. She went over and kissed his cheek. At forty, he was still very handsome and romantic.

  “How’s my little sweet pea this morning?” Victor pinched their daughter’s chubby cheek, making Ranait giggle.

  “Oh, papa, I’m fine.”

  Her son snorted and she knew he was feeling reject by all the attention Victor gave Ranait. So she quickly said, “Dear, hadn’t you promised Victor that you and he were going horseback ridding this morning?” Her husband gave her a befuddled look and she gave him a warning glance with a nod to agree. He cleared his throat and replied, “Oh, um, why aye, I had forgotten.” She rewarded him with a saucy smile and a wink, expressing how happy she was that he understood her meaning. He reddened slightly knowing that he would be reward later that night.

  Oh,” squealed Ranait, “me too.”

  “I’m sorry dear, but you’re staying with me.”

  “Aw,” she whined and pouted.

  Valda could see her daughter’s pupils dilating; a warning that she was not happy but the child wouldn’t lose her temper in front of her father.