Dorothy Garlock - [Wabash River] (37 page)

Amy turned and walked rapidly away from him before she said something she would regret later. Tally would never be anything except what he was, and she had been wrong to think he could change.

Nineteen

Amy lay with her head on her arm and gazed up at the brilliant night stars in the black vault above. The day had been spent quietly, resting and tending to Gavin. They had needed the day of rest because a human being could not go all the way through the valley of death and then return without suffering shock for a little while.

Gavin had slept most of the day. At mealtime Eleanor had insisted on feeding him chunks of tender meat and bread soaked in the broth. She spent the rest of the time sitting beside him, fanning him with the brim of her bonnet and bringing him cool water from the creek. She had been exceptionally quiet. In her eyes was the sad, haunted look of lost dreams and pitiful resignation. When darkness came she spread her blankets near his and lay down on her side facing him, as if she couldn’t bear not to look at him.

Rain and Meshewa left the camp when darkness fell. Tally still sat beneath a tree, brooding. Rain ignored him and told Amy to go on to bed. He and his friend would circle the camp and be back soon.

Now Amy lay wondering when Rain and Meshewa slept. They had sat up talking beside the campfire most of the night before, and today they had ridden away and not returned until late in the afternoon.

The camp was quiet except for the normal night sounds: the crickets, frogs, and the creek water flowing over stones on its journey to a larger stream somewhere to the south.

Amy, attuned to the night sounds, was suddenly aware that the cadence of the crickets was interrupted. She cautiously lifted her head to look behind her.

Rain came out of the shadows, crossed a patch of moonlight and walked back into the shadow again. He threw his hat on the ground beneath the tree, leaning his rifle against the trunk.

“How did you know I was coming?” he asked as he squatted down beside her.

“The crickets stopped singing as you passed.”

Rain chuckled and pulled his shirt off over his head, then sat down on the blanket and pulled off his moccasins.

“Meshewa is gone. He likes to travel at night. He has the eyes of an owl.”

“Where’s he going?”

“Home. After the earthquake his uncle moved the tribe west to the Beaver Lake country. He carried a message to the tribes east of the big river and heard that I had passed through Kaskaskia.”

“A war message?”

“No. A message saying it was time for the tribes to move west before they were boxed in by the whites. His uncle is troubled. Their home is north of Belle Point, but Meshewa said there’s constant trouble between the Osage and the Cherokee and Will Bradford was doing all he could to keep peace.” Rain lifted the blanket and lay down beside her; he wrapped his arm around her and drew her to his side. “Forget about all that now, sweetheart. Come here. I want to hold you.”

“I didn’t expect you to come to our blankets tonight,” she whispered and turned her lips to the warm skin of his shoulder.

“Is that why you’ve got this thing on?” he asked, his hand hard against her buttocks pulling her tightly against him.

“I thought Meshewa would come back with you, and you wouldn’t want to—”

“Wouldn’t want to! Not until I’m old and gray and have one foot in the grave! Even with a cane I’m going to chase you around the house.” He pulled her to a sitting position and pulled the gown over her head. “Do you want
to,
Little Wife? Do you?” he asked between chuckles, pushing her back down on the blanket and leaning over her.

“You know I do!” Her arms went around his neck, her palms smoothing the muscles in his shoulders. “But . . . I want to talk to you first—” His mouth closed over hers and his fingers found the nipple on her breast and squeezed it. “Rain! Stop or I’ll not be able to . . . talk,” she gasped when his lips left hers and followed his fingers to her breast.

“I told you that once I had a taste of you I’d be like a rutting moose. We can talk later. Right now I’m so hungry for you I’m about to burst.” His hands caressing her warm naked body from the nape of her neck to her firm buttocks were both sweet and violent.

“Greedy man!” She laughed happily in his ear. “You’ve had me every night but last night.”

“I want you every night!” he said hoarsely, pulling her tightly against him and moving his hips so that his arousal rubbed against her soft belly. “I almost hated Meshewa for keeping me from you.”

His fingers made sharp invasions of her body, and she responded by touching his dark nipples, tentatively at first, and then more firmly as he hissed in pleasure. His mouth explored her neck and shoulders and deposited wet kisses in her ear. With her head held fast in the crook of his elbow he feasted on her mouth while his fingers searched the silken copper bush between her legs and then crept into the damp, dark crevice of delight.

“Rain, darling, I love you,” she murmured and arched against him, aware only of the need to satisfy the hunger he was provoking.

She felt him moving down to enter her and spread her legs to welcome him. He was as hard and firm and wonderful as before. It felt so good to have him there. She pressed up against him and heard the answering groan that came from deep in his throat. He went in all the way and held himself there. When he withdrew she almost cried out, clutching his buttocks to keep him from leaving her. She wanted the surging rhythm, and her hips began to move.

His muted laugh against her mouth was one of sheer joy. He slowed the rhythm and she twisted and turned under him, trying to get him to increase the pace. Then suddenly he thrust with unbelievable force, pressing deeper and deeper against her womb. Amy was sure she would explode, that she would die of pleasure. But he didn’t stop. They moved closer and harder and faster until time and forest and stars all exploded in a gigantic burst of color. She gave a sob of joy as he responded with a long shuddering sigh. When they were two again, they lay panting and holding on to each other.

They remained for a long while locked together. His body was a beloved weight against her, his head beside hers, a light breeze cooling the sweat on their bodies. After long moments he raised up to lean on his elbows. She smiled up at him and stroked his cheek with her fingertips.

“Have I told you today that I love you, Little Wife?” he asked shakily. “I love you so much it purely scares the hell out of me.” His lips nibbled at hers for a long moment before he whispered, “My God! I could have gone through life without knowing . . . this if I’d not gone back to Quill’s Station.”

“I was waiting for you,” she said simply. “I would have waited forever.” She felt like crying for the lonely years spent after Juicy’s death, hoping and praying Rain would return.

“Sweetheart! I didn’t know!” He rolled to his back and held her close to his side. “You’re not crying?” he asked anxiously when he felt moisture on her cheek.

“No. It’s just nerves. I thought we were going to die yesterday and never build a home or see our children,” she said in a small voice against his neck.

“I’m glad it’s over. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about Hammond Perry now. If Gavin hadn’t been shot, we’d have been to Belle Point in a week or ten days. We may have to leave him in Davidsonville.”

“I told Tally to leave us when we get to Davidsonville. I was wrong about him, and I’m sorry. We should have sent him downriver with the boatman that brought us across.”

“I’ve seen his type before. He needs to be in a place where he does the same thing day after day. He can’t handle quick decisions. If you’d have been killed or even hit because he didn’t have the guts to shoot I’d have killed him!” he said fervently. “As it is, he let the kid shoot Gavin, who’s ten times the man he is.”

“Gavin’s going to be all right, isn’t he?”

“I think so. If we bind him good and tight he should be able to ride tomorrow. We’ll make it a short day. I have a friend in Davidsonville who’ll look after him if he can’t go on.”

“Eleanor is worried about what Meshewa said about her and Gavin sleeping together.”

“Meshewa read the signs as he saw them. Gavin has fallen in love with Eleanor, but I’m sure he’ll not dishonor her. My job is to take her to Will Bradford, sweetheart. What happens after that is up to them.”

“What if . . . she doesn’t want to marry Will?”

“Then she’ll have to tell him.”

“She’ll not want to leave Gavin in Davidsonville.”

“She’ll have to if he can’t travel.”

“Rain . . . why do you think the Frenchman was asking about you? Could he have anything to do with Hammond Perry wanting Eleanor?”

“I don’t think so. I’ve heard about Efant. Now I think he was the Frenchman we met in Kaskaskia. He’s a rogue. Some say he’s a cold-blooded killer, some say he’s an honorable man. But there’s no need for us to worry about him until the time comes.” He moved out from under the blanket and began to pull on his shirt and britches. Amy leaned up on one elbow to watch him.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to circle the camp. I’ll be back soon.”

*   *   *

Eleanor saw Rain leave Amy’s blankets and move silently into the woods along the stream. She took a quivering breath and blinked back the tears. The hours had dragged by slowly as she lay on her lonely bed, listening for any sound that came from the man who lay a few feet away.

After Rain had left camp, Gavin threw back the blanket and leaned up on his elbow.

“Gavin?” Eleanor whispered and inched over to him. “Do you want a drink of water?”

“Aye. But I can be gettin’ it.”

“I’ve got some right here.” She brought the cup and held it to his lips. He drank thirstily and lay back down. “Can’t you sleep?” she asked anxiously, placing her palm on his forehead.

“I been sleepin’ the day out, lass. I just be tired of lyin’ here.”

“Your forehead is still cool. Rain said to watch for signs of fever.”

“Ye best be gettin’ some sleep yerself. Ye been up ’n down—”

“You were awake?”

“Aye. Most of the time.”

Eleanor folded out the edge of the blanket covering Gavin and lay down on her side on the top of it, pulling her blanket over them.

“Lassie, ye shouldn’t—”

“Don’t say anything, Gavin. I’m going to stay here. You may need me.”

“Ye be making trouble for yerself.”

“I don’t care. Gavin . . . if you hadn’t shoved me behind you I’d have been killed. The shot that hit you in the side would have hit me higher up.”

“Ye don’t know that, lass.”

“Look at me.” With a palm against his cheek she turned him toward her. Their faces were close. She moved her body closer and her breast nudged his forearm. “I love you. Yesterday I was sure we were going to die. But because you were with me, I wasn’t really afraid.”

“Ye stood up to it like the grand lass ye are.”

“Do you love me? Do you love me just a bit?”

“Nora, lass, I got no right—”

“Why don’t you have the right?” she whispered.

“’Cause I be what I be, and ye be promised to another mon. Even if ye werena—”

“When we get to Belle Point, I’m going to tell Will that I’m not going to marry him.”

“Now why would ye be doin’ a thin’ like that?”

“Because I don’t want to marry him. I want to marry you, if you . . . want me. I think you do. We can build a life together, Gavin. I know we can.”

“Ye don’t be knowin’ what ye be sayin’.”

“I know perfectly well what I’m saying. I’m going to kiss you. If you don’t want to kiss me back, it’s all right.”

“Nay, Nora! The mon will be comin’ back.”

“Let him see; I don’t care. Someday you’ll kiss me. Someday, you’ll come to my blankets and hold me in your arms all night long, just like he holds Amy,” she whispered, her lips floating above his. Her kiss was sweet, gentle, loving, clinging. She kissed him lingeringly, tasting his mouth, learning the shape, but softly, gently. Reluctantly the kiss ended.

“Ye be killin’ me, my . . . sweet angel of a woman,” he muttered thickly and anxiously. The streak of flame spreading through his groin was making breathing difficult. “I be achin’ fer ye ’n holdin’ meself from ye.”

“You don’t have to hold yourself from me.”

“Tis almost more than I can bear.” When he lifted his arm she raised her head to fit it on his shoulder and snuggled against his side. She could feel his great body shudder even though there was a blanket between them.

“I’m not hurting you?”

“Nay. Tis not fittin’ to mention the part of me that aches for ye. Nora, lass, I don’t know what to be doin’.”

“To know that you love me is enough. We’ll go to Will and tell him that we love each other. He’ll release me.”

“Then what, lass? I’ve no way to be takin’ care of ye in the style ye be used to. The best I can do is to homestead. It be a rough life for a lass such as ye.”

“You’re not to be worrying about it. Hear? You’ve got to get well before we do anything. Oh, kiss me, sweet man. Really kiss me!” She tilted her head and brushed her lips against the pulse in his throat. He pulled her even closer to his side and gave a hungry moan of anticipation.

“Take care, lass,” he warned her with pain in his voice, “lest I be carried beyond endurance.”

She felt his lips in her hair and his hand stealing up to gently encircle her round breast. He gently teased her ear with his tongue and teeth, then his lips crossed her cheek to her waiting mouth. His kiss was long and demanding, and she felt a flood of sensations sweep over her. He devoured her mouth hungrily, again and again, drinking in her sweetness until his senses reeled. Then all too soon it was over and he fell away from her. He lay beside her, his breath coming in agonized gasps.

“Ye be so sweet . . . so sweet.”

“Kissing is wonderful,” she said weakly while placing small kisses along the line of his jaw. “Gavin . . . what were you like as a little boy?”

“Ah, lass, twas long ago. I was like most boys. Happy.”

“Tell me.”

“Me mother liked music, me father was a scholarly mon. Many nights he would teach me to read by candlelight ’n me mother would sing to us. I believe they loved each other; it’s what a child wants to believe.” He hugged her close to him now, not caring if Rain returned and found them lying close together.