And he held a gun pointed straight at them.
With a whispered oath, Rance quickly set April on her feet and pushed her behind him protectively.
“Don’t go for it!” Zeke snapped, nodding toward the gun in Rance’s holster. “Don’t make a move till I tell you, and then move real slow. I want you to reach down and unbuckle that belt and let it fall to the ground. Then I want you to kick it over here to me.”
Rance made no move, holding his arms out slightly from his sides, right hand inches from his gun. His feet were spread apart, body rigid.
“I told you to unbuckle that belt,” Zeke’s voice was louder, betraying his own tension. “I ain’t gonna tell you again, you sonofabitch. I’m just gonna start shootin’.”
Slowly, Rance’s hands moved toward the buckle of his gunbelt. Unfastening, he let it drop to the ground, where it hit with a dull thud.
“Now kick it over here,” Zeke ordered.
April suddenly felt herself being shaved roughly to the side, her knees raking the dirt. Rance had hooked his toe in the belt and kicked it upward, sending it into Zeke’s face and taking him by surprise. Rance sprang for him, hurling his body against Zeke’s knees and knocking him backward, just as the gun went off. She heard the whine, the crashing impact of splintering wood as the bullet hit the cabin wall inches from her head.
Zeke and Rance rolled in the dirt, pummeling each other, their guttural shouts and oaths breaking the stillness of the evening.
April came out of her trance. Scrambling for the gun Zeke had dropped, she grabbed it with ice cold fingers. Where were their horses? Now was the time to escape from both of them! She knew these woods. She could find a place to hide during the night, and get help in the morning.
Her eyes darted about desperately, looking for the horses. Behind her she could hear the sound of flesh hitting flesh, the grunts and curses of the desperately fighting men. Then there was a cracking sound, an agonized cry, and she started to spring forward for the cover of the bushes, knowing, somehow, that the fight was over. She had to flee at once. The victor would claim her, and by God, she was not going to belong to any man!
“Hold it, April!”
Rance’s voice. He had won the fight. She turned slowly, hating the tremor of joy that moved through her. Not joy, she admonished herself, it was only relief. Yes, that was it.
“Virtus is tied over there.” He pointed to a thicket. “Go get me a rope, and don’t try anything funny, April. You try to get on Virtus and ride out of here, and all I’ve got to do is whistle. He’ll throw you to the ground. Now move.”
April forced herself to obey his command, knowing that, for now, there would be no escape. Wading through the shrubs, she found Virtus, took the rope from his saddle with quick, jerking movements, then carried it to Rance.
He took it from her in silence. Bending down, he looped one end around Zeke’s left ankle, then dragged him, screaming, across the ground roughly to where two trees stood about four feet apart. He twisted the rope around the trunks, connecting the other end to Zeke’s right ankle, tugging until he was spread-eagled in the dirt.
Rance mounted the waiting horse, then lifted April to perch behind him.
“Rance Taggart, I don’t want to be with you,” she said firmly.
“Leave me here,” she challenged. “I want to go home.”
“And tangle with that wildcat sister of yours and wind up dead?” He shook his head from side to side. “Your father is probably being cared for just as well in his house as he would be in a hospital. Didn’t you tell me he’s got his old Negro with him? If you go back there, you’ll only get yourself into terrible trouble. And you can’t do anything for your father. You’re coming with me, April, and that’s how it is.”
He urged Virtus into a faster gait as they reached the road. April sat quietly behind him, taking in what he had said. The terrible thing was that he was probably right. What could she do for Poppa now, with a war raging and the hospitals probably filled with soldiers anyhow?
They paused briefly, while Rance took food from his saddlebag and gave it to her, silently cursing Zeke for half-starving his prisoner. He began to regret leaving Zeke alive, but it was too late to change that.
A little later, April looked warily skyward at the sound of heavy, rolling thunder. Lightning pierced the sky, splitting the blue-black heavens as the wind picked up to send leaves and small branches swirling down.
“This is dangerous,” she screamed above the howling wind, holding tighter. “We can’t keep riding in this.”
He did not answer but continued to urge Virtus onward. The rains began to fall, slashing down on them. A bolt of lightning struck not too far to the left. A distant tree erupted in yellow-red flames, smoke soaring skyward.
“We have to stop!” she cried, terrified. “For God’s sake, Rance. You’re going to get us killed.” Already the rains had soaked her to the skin.
He slowed the horse as he shouted above the storm. “I remember an old barn around here somewhere. We’re on Fletcher land. I don’t think we have to worry about Zeke slipping up on us in this storm. And as soon as it breaks, we’ll move on.”
“There!” he yelled as a white streak punctured the darkness. He headed straight for the barn and, within moments, he was dismounting, yanking her down beside him and leading her and Virtus inside.
The sweet smell of hay touched her nostrils along with the odor of decay. Then she became aware of him standing just behind her, and she heard him say, “Take your clothes off.”
“I will not!” She whirled about, trying to see his face in the darkness. “I’ll never give in to you again, Rance Taggart.”
“Oh, hell, April, I’m tired of arguing with you.”
He spoke with maddening calm. “There’s a pile of hay. You can burrow down in it to get dry and warm. I don’t want you getting sick on me.”
He pushed her toward the prickling hay. “I’m going to do the same thing. I’m soaked to the bone.”
“You stay away from me,” she warned, quickly removing her ragged dress and burrowing into the hay.
She lay there tense, waiting for him to make some move toward her. He, too, had burrowed down in the sweet-smelling hay, after removing his own clothing.
Did she dare venture out in the crashing storm? She could not return to Pinehurst. She would have to seek refuge with the Fletchers.
Slowly, she raised up to her knees. Pausing to listen for Rance’s even breathing, she began to crawl along, pausing every few seconds to make sure he was still asleep.
She was almost out of the hay, about to stand, when she felt a sharp crack across her buttocks. She pitched forward. Rance’s amused voice echoed mockingly all through the old barn. “How can I sleep with you wiggling around, April? Get back up here.”
Enraged, buttocks still stinging, she turned around and threw herself down beside him. “Only God knows how much I hate you, Rance Taggart,” she hissed. “I’ll find a way to get away from you. I swear it!”
He murmured, “Calm down, blue eyes. If you’re real sweet, I’ll make it so good that I couldn’t drive you away from me.”
Oaths bubbled in her throat, but she forced herself to remain silent. She lay perfectly still, her back toward him, not touching. Despite the fury within, matching the storm’s, she finally slept.
Chapter Sixteen
Sunlight streamed down through a slit in the rotting roof. April opened her eyes to stare upward at the azure sky. The storm was over. Glancing about, she gasped at the sight of Rance, lying inches away, brown eyes staring at her intently, the play of a smile on his lips. He was no longer covered by the hay, and his naked body was entirely displayed.
“Good morning, blue eyes,” he whispered. He was so ruggedly handsome, and he seemed to exude a special kind of strength. Under different conditions, she might have been vulnerable to his charms. But not now—not when she had come to resent him so fiercely.
She told herself that the desire swimmin
g through her was only a normal reaction to such a magnificent display of manhood. It certainly did not mean that she cared. She would never lose control of herself where Rance Taggart as concerned. Never.
“Go ahead and take me!” she challenged suddenly. “It’s why you insist on keeping me with you when you know how I loathe you. Go on and take what you want from me. Satisfy yourself and be done with me.” Her voice cracked, and she turned her face away.
“What makes you think you could satisfy me?” he asked mockingly, and she turned to see the twinkling in his eyes. “What makes you think you’re so special that I would go to any trouble to keep you with me?”
She shook her head, bewildered. “What other reason could there be? When you returned to your ranch and found me gone, then why didn’t you just forget about me? Why did you come after me?”
“Would you have preferred to be left in the hands of Zeke Hartley?”
“No. I don’t want to be in the clutches of any man!” She sat up, too incensed to care that she was naked. “Why is it all men seem to think a woman’s sole purpose is to be mated? Did you ever stop to think that maybe we can live without you? That maybe there are those among us who would prefer to be alone than to have some man pawing at us night and day? Sweating and grunting like a boar hog?”
His eyes darkened and she knew she had finally broken through that cool facade. He reached out to cup her chin in one large hand, squeezing firmly. “Listen to me, damn you. You can lie to yourself all you want, but you can’t say you were pretending either of those times we made love. That was no act. You wanted me. You enjoyed it. And you’re a goddamned liar if you say you didn’t.”
He rolled over, pinning her beneath him, holding her wrists tightly at the sides of her head. She could feel his warm breath on her face, and there was no escaping the blazing fury of his eyes. “You wanted me then, and you want me now. You challenge me to rape you, but I’ve never had to rape any woman, you conceited little fool. I’ve never had to. Heed me well, April. You’re nothing but a spoiled brat, and you think I’m just panting now from wanting you, but I’ll never take you again until you beg me.”
“That will never happen,” she cried. “I’ll never want you, you smug bastard, and I’ll die before I let myself.”
Abruptly, he silenced her with a smoldering kiss that left her gasping for breath when at last he raised his lips. She trembled, hoping it was anger and not desire that made her do so.
He looked straight into her fiery eyes and murmured, “You liked that, didn’t you? You won’t admit it to me, but you can’t hide the truth from yourself.”
His lips mashed down once again, and she tried to struggle, twisting her head from side to side, but she was powerless. She was fighting a battle within herself as she commanded her body to freeze. I won’t let him, she cried silently. I won’t let him do this to me…dear God, not again.
“You were made for this.” He dipped his head to fasten hot, seeking lips around one nipple and suckle. “God never made fruit so sweet.” He began to flick his tongue across each nipple in turn, pausing every so often to draw them into his mouth hungrily. “Say you want me, April. Say you want me, and I’ll take you all the way.”
“Damn you, never!”
She was hanging from the precipice by her fingertips. Never had she known such a driving, gnawing hunger. Pain began to swoop down into her belly. But she would not give in.
She struggled up to a sitting position. “With every breath I draw, Rance Taggart,” she whispered raggedly, “I will hate you more than the last breath I drew.”
“Strong words, young lady.” He gave her a lopsided smile.
For an instant, she thought of slapping his smugly smiling face but she remembered what had happened the last time. It was not worth the trouble. There were other ways of taking revenge, and she vowed to find them.
She got to her feet and walked away, fists clenched at her sides. “I’ve got an extra shirt in my saddlebag, and a pair of trousers,” he called. “Put them on. They’ll do till we get back to the ranch. Can’t have you riding around naked and exciting all the farmers.”
He watched as she walked to the saddlebags and took out the clothing, then disappeared outside.
He shook his head in wonder. Why hadn’t he taken her? Because he wouldn’t do so unless she wanted him, wanted him and said so. There was no other way.
He finished dressing and walked outside. She heard him approach but did not acknowledge his presence. He touched her shoulder, felt her stiffen. “April, I’ve got something to say to you.”
“Say it.”
“I need your help. That’s why I’m going to keep you with me. When I’m done with you, you can be on your way.”
“And just how long do you think you will be needing my services?” she asked bitterly, still not turning to face him. “I do have business of my own to tend to.”
“I can’t say. Maybe for as long as the war lasts.”
She whirled around, eyes wide. “You can’t do that! Rance, I must get home. You don’t know—”
“Yes, I do know,” he snapped. “And I know you can’t do a damn thing about it, so I don’t want to hear about it anymore. Now I’ll be good to you if you’ll let me. But I want it understood here and now that I’m not putting up with any of your foolishness. You do as you’re told, and we’ll get along.”
She blinked back furious tears. “I suppose that includes repeating that sordid little scene back there.”
“No, April. I proved to you that I don’t have to have you. I won’t touch you again unless you ask. Now let’s go. I’m anxious to get back.”
Edward Clark was waiting when they arrived at the ranch. The guard at the main road had signaled ahead. Edward stood in the clearing in front of the house, and Trella was standing quietly beside him.
April was startled to see the strange girl, and her curiosity was further aroused when she realized she was wearing one of her dresses.
“I see you got her,” Edward drawled. “Have any trouble?”
“Not really,” Rance replied casually, swinging down from the horse. He turned to fasten his hands about April’s waist and lift her down. She stepped away from his touch immediately, and he gave her a knowing smile before turning back to Edward. “What’s been going on? Any news of the war?”
“Yeah, and it’s all bad.” His face took on a grim look. “All hell’s busted loose, Rance. We got word that the biggest battle yet was up in Shiloh, Tennessee. Some say we lost ten thousand men.”
“Oh, my God.” Rance looked about in misery, then fastened his gaze once more on Edward. “We can’t stand a loss like that.”
Edward shrugged. “It could have been even worse. Grant and another Yankee general by the name of Foote got delayed. That gave Johnston and Beauregard just enough time to get their forces together at Corinth, Mississippi.”
He knelt and picked up a small stick and began to draw a diagram in the dirt to illustrate how the battle took place. Rance bent to a squatting position to observe. With a sweeping glance at the strange girl, who continued to stare so rudely, April looked downward, anxious to hear the story.
Edward pointed with the stick. “Grant had put his army on the western bank of the Tennessee, here, at Pittsburg Landing. Most of his men were in camp near a little meeting house called Shiloh Church, here, which was just about twenty miles from Corinth.” He gestured once more with the stick before continuing. “We hear Johnston figured to strike Grant before that Yankee Buell and his troops could get there to help. So he marched up from Corinth and took Grant on. He caught him off guard and, the first day, he almost pushed his army into the Tennessee River.”
He paused, a wave of sadness making his voice crack slightly. “The damn Yankees rallied, and Johnston got killed. By dark, Buell’s troops were arriving, along with one of Grant’s divisions that had been delayed. The next day, the Yankees hit with everything they had. Ten thousand men. It don’t look good, Rance. Not at all. Now
our Confederate Congress has voted that all men between eighteen and thirty-five gotta go fight.”
“Conscription,” Rance mused thoughtfully. “I’m not surprised. When the war started, Confederate soldiers were enlisted for just a year, and that year is up. I imagine the glory has dissolved. Our army could be in danger. I’m glad to hear Congress has passed a conscription act.”
April could contain herself no longer. “Why would you be glad?” she asked scathingly. “Now you can’t be a coward any longer. You’ll be forced to join the army.”
Without looking at her, Rance murmured, “You don’t know what you’re talking about, April.” To Edward he said, “What is the reaction of the men?”
“They’re willing to stick it out with you. They figure the way you got it planned, we aren’t gonna be seen around too much, anyway. Most of our work is going to be done at night. This conscription thing is going to mean trouble, though. There’s an exemption that says the owner or overseer of at least 20 slaves can’t be called to serve. They also say that, for $500, you can hire somebody to take your place.”
Rance shook his head. “We can’t be worried about that. We’ve got plans to make.” Remembering April, he gestured for her to move to the house. “We’ve got things to talk about that you don’t need to hear. Should you get captured, you won’t have anything to tell the enemy.”
“Captured?” she echoed, suddenly frightened. “Why should I be captured? There are no Yankees around here.”
With a silent look of understanding between him and Edward, Rance murmured, “There will be where we’re going. Now get along.”
She turned toward the house, anxious to fetch water from the creek and heat it for her first real bath in a long time. She went to the room that had been hers and began to see whether the rest of her belongings were intact.
“I only took two dresses.”
She whirled about to see the girl standing in the doorway, an apprehensive smile on her lips.
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