“That is fine with me. And you can have all the freedom you want, as long as you are in my bed at night.”
“It’s the same for you, as long as you are in my bed every night.”
He rubbed himself against her thigh. “I will be here.”
She smiled. “I have to admit it will be nice having a man around.”
Their gaze held as he slowly pushed himself inside her again. She drew in her breath, letting out a long sigh of sweet satisfaction. He began the rhythmic movement again, and she leaned up to kiss his chest. There was no more talking between them, only lovemaking…sweet, urgent, deeply gratifying. They were two people with wild hearts in a wild land, belonging nowhere but to each other.
Gabe unloaded another wagon full of stones, adding them to the pile for what they had decided would be their future home. A man and wife could not live a decent, private life inside a stage depot. Johnny was with him, and he stood throwing little stones into the pile, thinking he was helping. Gabe hesitated when he heard the clatter of an approaching stagecoach, for he also heard something he never liked hearing. His keen ears and his experience with soldiers over the years told him some were coming now. He could detect the unique sound of soldiers’ gear.
There had been several stagecoaches come through in the four weeks he had been there, but never had any soldiers been there since his arrival. He could not help the apprehension and distrust that pulled at him as he slowly set down the last stone. He picked up Johnny and carried him to greet the stage. If he was going to stay there forever with Faith, he needed to face everyone who came through and get over his basic distrust of whites and soldiers.
He wore no gun today, just cotton pants and dusty boots, and a shirt that hung open because of the heat. He nodded to the driver, recognizing him as the man who had taken the bullet out of him. For some reason Buck had not been through there since Gabe had returned to stay. Buck looked at him in surprise as he drew the coach to a halt. He wrapped the reins around a post and climbed down.
“Tall Bear?”
Gabe glanced at the soldiers and shook his head. “Gabriel Beaumont,” he answered, still feeling uneasy over the soldiers. One of them looked familiar, and he thought it best they did not know his Indian name. He hoped that in the noise of calling orders to halt, the scraping of hooves and squeak of saddles, none of them had heard Buck call him Tall Bear.
Johnny reached out. “Buck,” he said, smiling sweetly.
“Howdy, little guy,” Buck answered, pretending to shake his hand. He looked at Gabe again and saw the warning look in his eyes, the way Gabe glanced at the soldiers again. “Everything okay here?” he asked.
Gabe knew he was referring to Faith. “Everything is fine. Mrs. Sommers asked me to stay on and work here, and to help protect the place. I decided to take her up on her offer. When I arrived a month ago, I found Johnny lying near death with bad lungs and a high fever. I helped heal him and then I just decided to stay.”
Buck nodded, glancing at Johnny again. “Is the little guy okay now?”
“He will be all right.”
“Looks like he took a shine to you.”
Gabe nodded.
Buck rubbed his lips thoughtfully, glancing at Faith as she came out of the depot to greet the soldiers and passengers. She was wearing a yellow-flowered dress, her hair done up in curls, lace-up shoes on her feet. He looked back at Gabe. “Did Faith take a shine to you, too?”
Gabe grinned. “It is a long story. In a way we have known each other a long time. We wish to be married.”
“Married! Faith?”
Gabe set Johnny down and let him run to his mother. “She is a woman, you know, and her son needs a father.”
“A half-breed outlaw?”
Gabe was glad the man had said the words quietly. “I did not think you the sort of man who would judge another by his blood or his past.”
Buck removed his hat and ran a hand through graying hair. “Well, I ain’t—but considerin’ how you first came here—”
“Buck! I’ve been worried about you,” Faith called, running up to surprise the man with a hug. “It’s been nearly a month since I’ve seen you. The other drivers said you had been kicked by a horse.”
Buck looked a little embarrassed. “Hate to say it, but a mean ole mare did get the better of me—broke my damn arm. It’s still wrapped tight, but I can use it now.” He held up his left arm, and Faith could see the bandage wrapping under his folded-up shirtsleeve. “Looks like you’ve made some changes since I’ve been gone,” he said, glancing at Gabe.
“Yes. Gabe has come back to stay, Buck. We’re going to be married.”
Buck shook his head. “So I hear. You sure have a way of keepin’ a person on his toes. I ain’t never met a more unpredictable woman.”
Faith smiled. “I’m glad you’re all right, Buck. And be nice to Gabe. He’s a good man, and I love him.” She glanced at the passengers. “We’ll talk more later. I have to take care of these—” She hesitated. “My goodness! It’s Tod Harding. It’s been a year since he was here last.”
She left them to greet the passengers, and Gabe watched a well-dressed, handsome man remove his hat and bow slightly to greet Faith. He felt a pang of jealousy at the way the man looked at her. “Who the hell is Tod Harding?” he asked Buck.
Buck jerked a harness off one of the horses and let it trot away. “Oh, he’s just some rich fella involved with the railroad. He’s after Faith to put her claim on this land—part of railroad right-of-way, somethin’ like that. He figures to keep this place alive as a stop-off for trains once the railroad is done, says Faith can eventually build a town here. I expect she’s told you she wants to do that.”
“She has,” Gabe replied, still watching Faith and Harding. They were walking toward the depot. “He’s quite the fancy man, isn’t he?”
“Oh, he likes to put on airs. I don’t exactly trust him.” Buck faced him. “Let’s get back to you, though. Last I knew, you was ridin’ with outlaws.”
“That is behind me.” Faith was inside the depot now, and Gabe’s gaze moved to the soldiers, studying the one who looked familiar. Finally he met Buck’s eyes again. “I wish to be called only Gabe now. That is my white name. It was by mistake and confusion that I rode with those men. They are all gone now, and I have chosen to stay here.”
Buck slowly nodded. “Livin’ out here, I’ve seen and heard just about everything. I’ve seen total strangers marry on wagon trains west, a woman with kids who’s been recent widowed and needs a man to look after her—that’s usually the case. So I ain’t surprised by this.” He frowned, looking Gabe over. “Thing is, Faith ain’t exactly the kind of woman who thinks she needs lookin’ after. She must have strong feelin’s for you to want to marry again.”
Gabe grinned. “You are right. She does not like to think she needs taking care of.” He leaned closer. “We will not tell her that is what we both have been doing.”
Buck chuckled, folding his arms. “By God, I think maybe I like you, Tall—I mean, Gabe.”
Gabe nodded. “And you are one of the few white men I like. I owe you my life. I never had the chance to thank you.”
Buck waved him off. “’Twern’t nothin’. I’ve took out so many bullets, I ought to be given a doctor’s diploma. Trouble is, I wouldn’t even be able to read it.”
They both laughed, and Gabe helped Buck finish unhitching the team, feeling uneasy at the way the familiar soldier kept staring at him.
Inside Faith tended to the passengers, one married couple traveling to Idaho, and two railroad men, one of them Harding. He seemed eager to explain that the railroad had already reached her area, stretching one mile south of the depot. Sommers Station would soon begin to grow. They expected to complete the railroad by next summer, at which time the Union Pacific would build the loop to Sommers Station.
Faith served coffee and fresh biscuits to the passengers, listening to Harding, excited about what it all could mean. “I am planning to hire
someone to build a house for me so that I can use the depot as a rooming house,” she told him. “By the time tracks are laid to Sommers Station, I will be ready with a place for passengers to stay.”
Harding watched her, thinking how pretty she looked, much more feminine than the last time he’d been there. Here was a forward-thinking, hardworking woman, with a body that made a man ache. It was obvious she didn’t have much in the way of money and never had. Maybe if he helped her out, she would eventually be “grateful.” Women seemed to gravitate toward men with money. Besides, his entire plan for Sommers Station included gradually making this woman almost fully dependent on him.
He had to be clever about this. Faith Sommers had the capabilities to build Sommers Station into a profitable little town. He needed her right now for that very purpose, since he was too busy to give the place full attention himself. Once Faith had made this real estate valuable, he would move in and take over—legally. But he could not let the very feisty, independent Faith Sommers realize his plan until it was too late for her to stop it.
It amused him to think how eager people like Faith were to settle on railroad land grants, thinking to get rich somehow at their ventures. They would work hard to bring value to otherwise unsettled land; then men like himself would take over, getting rich from the labor of others.
“I could float you a loan if you need it,” he told Faith aloud.
“I’ll get by, Mr. Harding.” Faith poured him more coffee. “I have saved my money faithfully, and I have advertised for people to come here and settle. I’m sure I’ll find a cooperative carpenter to help me out.”
Harding put a hand on her arm. “Call me Tod, Mrs. Sommers. And may I say, you look quite beautiful today?”
“Quit the sweet talk,” the man with Tod teased him. It was Robert Belding, who had accompanied Tod on their first visit. “We’ve got to be on our way, soon as the team is changed. You don’t have time for spooning with pretty young women.”
The woman passenger blushed, but her husband laughed. Faith turned away with the coffeepot. “I prefer to call you Mr. Harding,” she replied. She faced him. “And I feel I should tell you my name will soon be Mrs. Gabriel Beaumont, as soon as we can find a preacher coming this way.”
Tod’s face fell, and Faith thought she actually saw a little anger in his eyes. “Mrs.? When and how did you meet a man way out here in the middle of nowhere? I thought you ran this place alone!”
Damn! He had not planned on this, and he had been so sure Faith would accept a loan. His plan was going to be a little harder to execute than he’d thought. Now there would be a husband to contend with. He had thought to woo Faith himself, just enough to make her trust him completely. That should have been easy. He had never had trouble fancy-talking a woman, but Faith Sommers was no ordinary woman.
“Well, I couldn’t quite handle everything alone,” Faith was saying. “Especially if Sommers Station is to grow. A man came here looking for work, so I gave him the job, and…things just happened.”
Tod rose. “That man I saw helping Buck when we first got out of the coach?”
Faith faced him calmly, already reading his thoughts. “Yes.”
“He looks Indian!”
She shrugged. “He is—half-Indian, Mr. Harding. And he’s a good man, skilled with a gun, which I certainly need, and strong for work.”
Tod scowled, taking on a stance of authority. “Mrs. Sommers, I feel compelled to ask you—are you sure this isn’t just a case of your being lonely? Wanting a father for your charming little boy?”
Faith put her hands on her hips, angry for the embarrassing remark in front of the others. “It is really none of your business, Mr. Harding. This station is being run just fine, and I still intend to build Sommers Station into a railroad depot and a full-fledged town. That should be all you’re concerned about.”
A look of challenge and arrogance came into the man’s eyes, renewing Faith’s original suspicion that Harding was not a man to be fully trusted. “Yes, I suppose you’re right,” he answered.
Buck came inside then, announcing that the new team would be hitched within five minutes. “We’ll leave in ten.”
The dusty, sweaty female passenger groaned at the thought of boarding the coach again.
“I hope you haven’t made a grave mistake, Mrs. Sommers,” Harding told Faith. He tugged at the lapels of his fancy suit jacket and walked out with Robert Belding, who looked at Faith and shook his head before also leaving.
“I don’t like that man,” Faith addressed Buck.
Buck only grinned. “That makes two of us.”
“Four of us,” the other woman remarked. “He’s been bragging about himself and the railroad since we left Omaha.”
They all laughed, and the young couple left. Buck turned to Faith. “You real sure about marryin’ Tall Bear?”
“I am,” Faith answered boldly. “And don’t call him Tall Bear. He doesn’t want that name used here.”
Buck shook his head. “I always said you was a strange, unpredictable woman. You’ve gone and proved it again.”
Faith shrugged. “You like him, don’t you, Buck?”
He nodded. “I didn’t think I would, but I already do.”
“Good. I am glad. Find us a preacher, will you, Buck? It’s kind of…urgent…if you know what I mean.”
Buck snickered, and Faith could feel her cheeks turning crimson. “I’ll find one,” he answered. “Have I failed you yet?”
Tears came into Faith’s eyes. “No. You’re a good man, Buck. I hope you’ll continue to consider settling here. Things are going to start growing real soon.”
He nodded. “I’ll think on it.”
They both walked outside, and Gabe was checking the harness on the team. Tod Harding was watching him, pacing. Finally Gabe straightened and faced the man. “Something I can do for you, mister?”
Gabe towered over Harding’s much slighter frame. “I am told you intend to marry Mrs. Sommers.”
Gabe frowned, looking the man over. “What business is that of yours?”
Harding folded his arms authoritatively. “I am Tod Harding of H and H Enterprises, not that you would know what that is. Suffice it to say my father and I own several companies in Chicago, Cheyenne, Omaha, and St. Louis, and we have invested heavily in the coming railroad. I’ve been here before, talked to Mrs. Sommers about helping this depot grow once the railroad comes through. I’m quite fond of the woman, have a great respect for her. I am only asking because I hope she will be well taken care of.”
Gabe saw right through the man, feeling a twinge of jealousy at knowing a white man with power and money was interested in Faith. He also read the man’s prejudice. “Faith Sommers is not the type of woman who considers herself as needing to be taken care of, Mr. Harding. She does a good job of that all by herself.”
Harding studied Gabe’s handsome face, furious inside. He had fully intended to come to Sommers Station soon to stay and build some businesses for his father, at which time he would have wooed Faith Sommers and got the pretty but lonely woman into his bed—while he stole away everything she had worked to build. This half-breed bastard could foil all his plans. “Yes, she does manage well alone,” he answered Gabe. “I will be coming back here soon, Mr… Beaumont, is it?”
Gabe nodded. “It is.”
“I hope I do not find that Mrs. Sommers has been abused, or perhaps abandoned by her husband.”
Gabe felt his anger rising. Here was the kind of white man he detested. “I hope you don’t try sticking your nose into our personal business, Mr. Harding! That could be a bad move on your part.” He watched Harding stiffen, saw the sudden fear in his eyes, even though he held his chin a little higher and pretended bravery.
“It is my opinion that no white woman should marry an Indian. No insult meant, Mr. Beaumont, but it’s just a fact of life.”
“Oh, I think you definitely meant an insult, Mr. Harding!” Gabe walked away from the man, afraid he would punc
h him if he stood near him any longer. He walked over to stand next to Faith while passengers boarded, Harding sitting next to a window so he could look at Faith. He turned away when Gabe moved an arm around her waist.
Buck climbed aboard and snapped the reins, and the soldiers fell in place alongside the coach. One held the reins to a riderless horse, and Gabe realized it belonged to the soldier who had made him uneasy, the one who had looked familiar. That one had not spoken to him, but now he rode inside the coach with Tod Harding. Why? A soldier and a white man with power could be a bad combination if both had something against him. He just was not sure what it could be. Perhaps the soldier knew about his outlaw ways. Maybe he was even wanted. He only knew something was not quite right, and he did not like this feeling of danger; but he decided not to mention it to Faith.
“What did Mr. Harding say to you?” Faith asked him.
Gabe scowled, looked down at her. “How well do you know the man?”
She shrugged. “This is only the second time he’s come through here. All I know is that he is a pompous ass with money. He has offered to help build Sommers Station into a railroad depot, and for that I am grateful, but I suspect he’s the kind who likes to think he owns people. I am not a person who can be owned. He offered me a loan, but I refused.”
Gabe grinned, grabbing her close and lifting her feet off the ground. “That man has an interest in you, woman. Didn’t you give some thought to what it might be like being married to a rich man like that?”
She grinned slyly. “Oh, a passing thought. But men like that don’t marry rough-and-tumble women like me, and women like me could never be happy with that kind. We like our men just as rough, men who can handle themselves in a fix, men who are afraid of nothing.” She moved her arms around his neck. “We like strong, rugged men who understand real life and know how to work hard and aren’t afraid to sweat a little.”
He laughed lightly, meeting her mouth in a hungry kiss. “I can think of better ways to sweat than by working,” he said after releasing the kiss.
“You’ll just have to wait until Johnny goes down for his nap, Gabe Beaumont.”
Tame the Wild Wind Page 27
