Arizona Caress: She Feels The Heat Of His Hot Embrace

by Bobbi Smith

  Chance had never known such desolation. He'd always been surrounded by family and friends. He could barely fathom the depths of her despair, but he himself felt a heart-wrenching pain. He felt a sudden overwhelming need to take her in his arms and hold her, to protect her from this terrible agony. His need to comfort her overpowered his hesitancy, and he took the final steps. He reached down and took her by the shoulders, drawing her up to him.

  "Rori?" He said her name softly.

  She was aware of nothing but pure pain; her heart was torn to shreds.

  "Grampa, Grampa," she mourned. Her body shook like a leaf in a high wind, and she clung in desperation to the only solid thing left in her world. She looked up at him, her wide eyes reflecting the misery she was feeling. Tears coursed down her cheeks as her gaze locked with his. It was a moment caught in breathless time, when there was no battle, there was no war, only pain and consolation.

  "You've got to help me, Chance," she begged. "My grampa's dying . . . I can't get the bleeding to stop, and the bullet went so deep . . ."

  Chance's heart lurched painfully in his chest as he stared down at her tear-stained face. For the first time, he was seeing Rori completely defenseless, and it struck him almost painfully. She was so sweet and so young and so totally vulnerable.

  "He can't die, Chance! I won't let him die!" Rori vowed with a fierce determination born of fear. What would she do without him? Where would she go?

  "Let me see what I can do," Chance offered, dropping down beside Burr. It was then that he got a good look at the old man's wound. He had seen many like Burr's during the war, and he knew there was little they could do for him there in the wilderness. He needed a surgeon's care and fast, but there was no hope of that. "He needs a doctor, Rori. Where's the nearest help?"

  "There's only the Pima village," she answered.

  "How far is it? Will they help us?"

  "It's several hours ride due west, but it's still closer than town. Nilakla has relatives there. They'll help us."

  "As soon as Doug finds Nilakla and brings her back, we'll make a travois and take Burr there," Chance promised her. Yet, even as he tried to sound supportive, deep inside him, he worried that Burr wouldn't survive the rest of the night.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Nilakla heard the gunshots and knew true terror. Her imagination conjured up horrible images of Rori being shot and Nilakla knew she couldn't stay in hiding any longer. She couldn't remain there like a frightened animal praying for help that might never come. She had the knife, and she had to go help her friend.

  Though her ankle was swollen and painful, Nilakla didn't let it stop her. She climbed from beneath the creosote bush and started off in search of Rori. Traveling as quickly as she could, Nilakla tried to stay low as she hobbled along. Her nerves were stretched taut as she moved across the treacherous terrain. She kept the knife clinched tightly in her fist, and at every unusual sound, she swung around in fearful expectation. Nervous sweat beaded her forehead, and she found that she was shivering despite the heat of the night.

  Faintly, in the distance, Nilakla heard the sound of approaching horse's hooves. She held her breath as she looked around quickly for a place to hide. She had no idea who might be coming. The thought that Hal or Tom might somehow have doubled back and gotten their horses sent her racing for cover behind a big boulder nearby. Afraid that even the slightest sound might give her away, she remained perfectly still as she pressed herself tightly against the rock and waited.

  Doug was getting frustrated and very worried. He'd been watching and listening for some clue to Nilakla's whereabouts ever since leaving Chance and Rori, and so far he had met with no success. A cold sense of dread was beginning to take hold of him as he continued his fruitless search. He was starting to fear that the other outlaw might have already found her. Doug's heart rebelled at the possibility. She had to be all right! She had to!

  "Nilakla?" He called out, knowing it was risky, but he was so desperate in his concern that he was willing to take the chance.

  Nilakla heard him call her name and couldn't believe it was actually Doug. She hesitated, her actions tempered by both caution and confusion. Remaining where she was, she waited until he had ridden on past her so she could get a good look at him before revealing herself. Nilakla recognized his tall, broad-shouldered form immediately when she crept forward to catch a glimpse of him, and she cried out his name in joyful relief. She was safe at last!

  "Doug!"

  "Nilakla!" Doug caught sight of her then and practically threw himself from the saddle in his haste to go to her. "Thank God I've found you. Are you all right?" He took her in his arms.

  "I'm fine," Nilakla assured him. She knew she shouldn't let him hold her, that it was over between them but there was no way she could deny his touch at that moment.

  "I was so worried about you," he confessed earnestly as he held her close. Doug lifted his hands to frame her face. He gazed down at her raptly, then slowly lowered his head to hers and claimed her lips for a long, lingering, cherishing kiss. Doug put everything he was feeling into that exchange—all the love, worry, and joy. He never wanted to be away from her again.

  Nilakla almost surrendered to her need for Doug, but she forced herself to remember that she meant nothing more than a bedpartner to him. As his lips plied hers in tender persuasion, she strove to remain passive and unresponsive. It was over between them.

  Doug had been ready to bare his soul to Nilakla, but her coolness in his embrace puzzled him. He drew back to stare down at her, and she moved completely away from him.

  "Nilakla? What is it? What's wrong?" Doug feared the bandits had hurt her somehow, done something unspeakable to her.

  "Nothing's wrong," she lied, thinking that things were really a mess right now and how much better it would have been if everything had gone as she'd planned. She had wanted to leave him without making a scene. She had wanted to ride off into the night so she wouldn't have to deal with a tearful good-bye, but now her plan was ruined. She was trapped and she was going to have to face him.

  "Good," Doug said as he tried to take her back in his arms. He wanted to profess his newly discovered love to her. He wanted to tell her that he loved her and would never leave her. But Nilakla refused him.

  "No, Douglas."

  "No?" He looked at her in bewilderment.

  "I don't want you to hold me. I don't want you to touch me."

  "What are you talking about? Have they harmed you in some way?"

  "No, Douglas, they didn't hurt me," she answered, thinking that nothing the outlaws could have done would have hurt her any more than his plan to leave her.

  "Then . . .?"

  "It's done between us, Douglas."

  "What are you talking about?" His consternation was very real.

  "Had they not come into our camp and taken us, I would be gone now, and everything would be all right."

  "Gone? Gone where?"

  "Back to my village and my people. Our time together was at an end, and I thought it best to leave quietly. Your brother had come, and I knew you would be leaving soon so . . . "

  "But, Nilakla," Doug began, believing that if he told her the truth of his feelings for her she would understand and stay with him, "I love you."

  It was the first time Doug had ever confessed his love to a woman. He had expected that everything would be wonderful once he did. Nilakla's reaction to his declaration, however, was nothing like he'd imagined. There was open disbelief mirrored in her dark eyes, and it startled him. He loved her! Why didn't she believe him?

  Nilakla had waited for so long to hear Douglas tell her that he loved her that now she found it very hard to believe. Though in her heart she wanted it to be true, her mind told her there had to be another explanation for this sudden change in him, and she was sure she knew what that reason was. He had found out about the baby! What other possible reason could there be? He didn't want her love. All he wanted from her was their child, and no doubt he though
t this was the way to get him.

  "I want to believe you, Douglas, but I don't," Nilakla told him as she met his gaze squarely. "You can take everything you want from this land with you when you go back East, but you will never take my child from me."

  Doug was completely shocked. Nilakla was pregnant? She was having his baby!?!

  "I'm going home to my people, and I will have my child there," she continued defensively. "I want him to be surrounded by people who love him."

  Doug went from stunned to elated, and he smiled crookedly. "That's how a child should be raised, love," he agreed, thinking of his own childhood. He lifted a hand to tenderly caress her cheek. "You'll make a beautiful mother, and our baby will be perfect."

  She stared at him distrustfully, not that he hadn't always been kind and gentle with her, but why should he be showing such interest? Why did he care? He was leaving. He would be going back to Boston with Chance just as soon as he could. That hadn't changed.

  Doug watched her changing expression, read the conflict there, and felt a great tenderness well up inside him. As much as it hurt him now to admit it, he understood what she was feeling. He realized that he'd never given her any real reason to believe that he loved her. During the course of their relationship, he'd seldom been a giver.

  Reflecting on it now, it seemed to Doug that all he'd ever talked about was striking it rich and going home to Boston. No wonder Nilakla doubted him. Doug knew he had a big job cut out for him if he was going to convince her of his sincerity, if he was going to prove to her that she meant everything to him. It would take time, for she was wary of him, much like a deer in the forest, but he had nothing to lose and everything to gain by being patient. Nilakla and their child were his life now—nothing else mattered.

  The bullet slammed into the boulder beside them, shattering the momentary quietude that had existed between them. Doug instinctively threw Nilakla to the ground and shielded her body with his own as he tried to decide from which direction the shot had come.

  "Were you hit?" Doug asked in a hoarse tone. The fear that he'd felt over her disappearance was totally eclipsed by the terror that gripped him at the thought that she might have been shot while standing right beside him. Doug cursed himself for letting his guard down for even that short time. He had been so caught up in the thrill of knowing that she was carrying his child that he hadn't been thinking of the danger. That foolishness had almost cost them their lives.

  "No," Nilakla whispered.

  "Chance got one of them, but this must be the bastard who got away. Stay down, no matter what," he ordered harshly in her ear and then scrambled quickly away from her, his gun drawn and ready.

  Hal had seen what had happened to Tom in his showdown with Burr and Chance. Realizing that he was out-gunned, Hal had hightailed it back the way he had come. He was desperate to get safely back to his horse. Moving quickly and silently through the night, he'd headed up the mountain toward the lookout spot. As he neared the point where he had split off from Tom, he had heard voices and recognized one as the other Indian woman's.

  Logic told Hal that he should get his horse and get out of there since he knew the location of the gold mine and could easily come back another time for his riches. But Hal was unable to pass up the chance to seek some revenge on the women. He had climbed to a higher vantage point, and then had crept closer to the edge of the overhang so he could get off a good, clean shot at those below.

  When he'd spotted Nilakla with Doug, he'd taken quick aim and fired. When his shot missed them by just inches, Hal grew furious. His advantage of surprise was lost, and he knew he'd better get out of there as fast as he could. He ran from where he'd been hiding and headed straight for the small clearing where they'd left the horses.

  Doug saw the furtive movement on the ridge overhead, and he made a daring dash for higher ground. He wanted to trap the cowardly killer and face him down on his own terms. Doug took care not to make himself an open target as he shifted positions and kept down low among the craggy boulders and outcroppings. He was almost halfway up the steep incline when he saw Hal making a run for it.

  "Hold it right there!" Doug ordered, training his gun on the fleeing bandit's back.

  Hal heard him call out, but did not stop. Instead, he pivoted and fired haphazardly as he kept running. He knew his only hope now was to get to the lookout place. He could hear Doug coming after him in endless pursuit, and he stopped at the crest of the jagged mountainside to fire at him again. That was his fatal mistake, for the rising sun was just beginning to brighten the eastern horizon, leaving him perfectly silhouetted against the paling sky. Doug returned his fire, winging him, knocking him off balance, and sending him tumbling backward out of sight down the far side of the mountain.

  Doug waited, not trusting that Hal had really fallen. His breathing was still labored as he slowly climbed the rest of the way to the top, searching guardedly for some sign of the villain. As the sun slipped above the horizon, bathing the desert world in its fierce golden glow, Doug saw what was left of Hal at the craggy bottom of a fifty-foot sheer drop. There was no doubt that the man was dead, for no one could have survived that bad a fall.

  Doug stood for a moment, looking down at the body, and then turned his back on the scene. He slowly holstered his gun as he headed toward where Nilakla, and his future, waited for him.

  Rori was keeping vigil at Burr's side now wearing Chance's big shirt over her own torn and tattered one. At the sound of an approaching horse, she looked up to see Doug returning with Nilakla, and she was thrilled. She wanted to run to her friend and welcome her back, but she didn't dare leave her grampa's side. Though she and Chance had done all they could, Burr had not regained consciousness since he'd been shot. Rori knew that his only hope for survival was to get him to the Pima village as soon as possible.

  Nilakla saw Rori kneeling beside her grandfather's still form. Without a word to Doug, she dismounted and went to her. "How is he, Rori?"

  Rori lifted her gaze to Nilakla's and the Indian woman saw reflected there all the anguish and sorrow the younger girl was feeling. "I don't know," she told her in a hushed, tear-choked voice. "He hasn't moved or spoken . . . We have to get him to your village. It's the closest place and there might be someone there who could help him."

  As Doug joined them, he quickly assessed the situation and then spoke up. "I'll ride to the mine and get what we need to make a travois. There's no other way Burr can be moved safely."

  "Thank you," Rori said as she turned back to Burr, keeping his hand held tightly in hers.

  "Thanks, Doug. I'll stay here with them," Chance told his brother as he watched him mount up again, "but hurry. I don't know how long he can hold on. How far a trip is it to the village?"

  "It'll take half a day at the pace we'll have to keep," Doug answered, and Chance nodded his grim understanding. "I'll be back," he promised, and they exchanged knowing looks as he rode off.

  It was early afternoon when they finally came within sight of the Pima village. Nilakla rode ahead to announce their coming. Doug had wanted to ride along with her, but she had refused his offer. She did not want her people to think that she and Douglas were one. She was returning to her home now and planned to stay there.

  Nilakla's refusal to let him accompany her into the village to meet her people hurt Doug, but he fought it down. He had a long way to go to win back her trust and love, and he realized that this was just the starting place. He would take it one day at a time.

  Doug rode along slowly with Chance and Rori as they maintained the plodding pace necessary for the travois that Rori had insisted she, and she alone, pull.

  Chance wearing the extra shirt Doug had brought him from the mine, had been quietly observing Rori, and he sensed she was nearly half-crazed with worry for Burr. The old man had shown no signs of regaining consciousness during the entire, arduous trip, and Chance was beginning to wonder if he ever would. He had tried to talk with Rori several times during the course of their cross-c
ountry trek, but she had barely responded to him beyond answering a "yes" or "no" to simple questions. He had finally given up the effort and had just ridden silently along at her side.

  Rori was oblivious to anything except the need to reach the village. Her emerald eyes seemed huge in her face, their depths haunted by her unspoken fear. Her mouth was set in a grim line, and tension radiated from every part of her slender body. Her movements were mechanical as she subdued her desire to panic. She wanted to kick her horse into a run and rush Burr to the village, but she knew such a rough ride would only make things worse. With a patience and iron will Rori didn't know herself capable of, she held her runaway emotions in check and kept her gaze locked on the encampment up ahead where help awaited them.

  Though his heart leapt with excitement at the sight of his only child, his daughter Nilakla, riding back into their midst, Chief Lone Hawk kept his rugged features schooled into a stony expression. Long months ago, he had tried to stop her from going away with the white man she'd called Douglas, but she had defied him. She had ridden away with the white without a word, and he had heard nothing from her since.

  Lone Hawk wondered now why she was returning. Had the white man used her and then left her as the chief had originally feared he would? Was Nilakla being forced to swallow her fierce pride, that was so like his own, and return to live with her people? Though he could not appear too welcoming after her blatant show of defiance, the chief was thrilled to see her. He had missed his spirited offspring.

  Nilakla rode forward to face her father for the first time since she'd willfully rebelled against him and had chosen to go live with Douglas. She kept her head held high as she met his fathomless, obsidian gaze without flinching. "Father," she greeted him cautiously.

  "Nilakla," he returned stiffly.

  "I have come because I am in need of your help," Nilakla told him quickly. When he didn't respond, but continued to regard her with a wooden expression, she went on. "Burr, the old white man whose son married Atallie, has been shot. My friends are bringing him here now. We need your help, Father, or he will surely die."