Chase the Wind (19 page)

“I think what she means is that she wants to marry a man who
will love her the way I love your mother,” Ian explained to his son.
He hoped desperately that he did so without smiling too much at
Jamie’s innocence. Jenny nodded in agreement.

“You’d better hope that
you
can marry someone who can shoot,”
she added. “You’ll probably need someone to save your life, too.”
Ian had to laugh at that.

“Do you think Mason will try to find Momma now?” Jamie asked.

“It’s been fifteen years. Surely the man has gotten on with his
life by now,” Ian reassured them.

Jamie was not so sure. His father hadn’t seen the woman, or seen
the fear in his mother’s eyes before she fainted.

Elizabeth came into the kitchen wiping away her tears. “She’s
asking for you.” Ian kissed Jenny on the forehead and rose from
his chair.

“Can we go too?” Jamie asked.

Elizabeth put her hand on his shoulder. “Let’s leave them alone
for now.” Ian had already gone up the stairs.

Faith was dressed in a gown and propped up on the pillows
when he reached their room. The doctor had finished up and left
her with instructions to stay in bed the rest of the week. Ian sat
down on the edge of the bed, took her hand in his and looked into
her pale blue eyes. Her eyes were lifeless, and the person who was
Faith seemed far, far away.

“Faith?” Ian lowered his head until his eyes were inches from
hers, their noses practically touching. She was looking beyond him.
“Faith?” he repeated, firmer this time. “Don’t let them win.”

Faith sucked in a shuddering breath; her eyes began to focus.
She saw Ian before her and sobbed.

“The baby’s gone?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“What was it?”

“A girl. She never drew a breath, she was too little.” Ian’s hair fell down over his eyes again, and Faith felt it brush against her forehead. Her face crumpled in pain, and Ian pulled her close as sobs began to rack her body. He held her until she could cry no
more, her grief giving way to exhaustion. Ian lay down next to her
and held her in his arms as she slept.

The next day, Faith insisted on going to the cemetery for the
burial of the baby girl. She leaned heavily on Ian as the tiny coffin was placed in the ground next to Elizabeth’s husband and son. The twins were solemn, neither saying a word. Jamie took his mother’s
other arm as they turned to leave the cemetery.

When he had his family back safe at the boardinghouse, Ian left to see if he could find Miriam. He asked at every hotel and stage
depot in town, but no one had heard of her. He finally decided
that she was part of the endless stream of settlers heading west and
decided to think no more about her. When Faith was strong enough to travel, he took his family home.

Faith was melancholy for a while after they settled back into their
life. Ian did everything he could to cheer her up, but there were times when he would come upon her unexpectedly and catch her
crying. He would hold her close, his hands caressing her silky hair,
and she would sob into his shoulder. She could never tell him
what she was crying for; she never knew herself—she was just sad.
Ian knew deep inside that she was worried about Mason coming
after them.

Ian was also determined that he wasn’t going to give up everything he had worked so hard for on the chance that their old tor
mentor might come. He was going to stand his ground. If and when Mason came, he would fight him. He would not let his family live under the shadow of that fear. It had been fifteen years; surely the man had moved on with his life. Still, every time he saw Faith cry,
he wished he had killed the man when he’d had the chance.

Amazingly, it was Jenny who helped her mother return to her old self. As winter came on, Jenny began to blossom. She had always been straight as a stick, with legs as long as Jamie’s, but
with the snow came a new softness about her. She began to develop curves, and Jamie was always looking at her as if he didn’t recognize
her. She also began to take an interest in doing things with her
mother. They spent a lot of time in the kitchen, where Faith passed
on the cooking skills that Elizabeth had taught her. They would
talk and laugh about silly things, and they began to share a friend
ship that was beyond the mother-daughter bonds. Jenny started
taking pride in preparing special treats for the men of her family,
and they all began to look at her in a new light.

Jamie also began to change over the winter. His voice was deep
ening, much to the amusement of his family. He had always read
to them in the evenings as they sat by the fire, but now it became
a game as they waited for his voice to crack on the words. He would
peer at them over the top of the book while they dissolved into fits
of laughter at some particular squeak he had emitted. He would
wait with the patience of a saint until the giggles subsided, then
continue like a professor with an unruly class. He was also growing
wider and more muscular with the hard work of keeping the ranch
going. He became the image of his father as the winter passed, from
his wide shoulders right down to his rock-hard stomach and slim hips. He even had Ian’s unruly hair, which always managed to fall
down in his eyes when he was trying to read or work on something
that required a lot of attention.

He had developed a deep interest in learning how to shoot well, and was thrilled with his Christmas gift from Ian, a Colt revolver and holster. He spent hours shooting at empty cans lined up on a
fallen tree.

Jenny followed along with him on these outings, still dressed in
Jamie’s hand-me-down pants, and would practice using Ian’s revolver. She soon became good at hitting targets, both stationary
and moving, but she knew she would never be as fast as Jamie. Ian
was surprised that Faith never got upset over all the shooting and gunplay the twins were now involved in; but instead she seemed quite happy that they could now defend themselves and she would
come out and watch their latest trick shooting.

When spring finally came to Iowa territory, Ian and Faith felt as if they had watched two butterflies emerge from their cocoons. Jamie was now taller that Ian and had a quiet strength about him that was amazing. Even Storm sensed the difference in him, and would respond to his commands as quickly as he did to Ian’s. Ian watched him work the stock with the pride of knowing that all the Duncan horse magic had passed on to his son, tempered with the
gentleness of his mother.

Then there was Jenny. Every time Ian looked at her, she took his breath away. She moved with the grace of a dancer and glowed with a golden beauty that was all her own. She was tall and slim, with just the right amount of curves. She had a perfectly oval face, wide, deep blue eyes that a man could drown in, and golden blond hair that hung in waves down to her hips. Ian knew it would have to be a very special man to win her heart; he prayed that he would be around to protect her from the ones who would want to break it.

Spring also brought bad news to the family. Word came from St. Jo that Elizabeth was very ill. The Duncans hastily packed their bags and took off for the city, but arrived too late; Elizabeth had died the night before. Ian arranged for her burial in the cemetery with her husband, son and the Duncans’ baby girl. Faith grieved heavily for the woman who had been her only true friend, but comforted herself with the idea that Elizabeth would now take care of her lost daughter, along with the two little boys who were buried in the church yard at home. As soon as the service was over, the family returned home; there was too much work to be done in the spring to spend much time away.

It was amazing how much had changed in just the few days the family had been gone. Spring was coming out all over the prairie. All the flowers and trees were in bloom, and the fields were full of newborn calves and foals. The family made it home just as dusk was settling in. Jenny and Jamie bolted from the buckboard to see if there were any newborns in their own barn. Faith began to fuss at them because they were still dressed in their good clothes, but Ian stopped her by putting a finger to her lips as he helped her down from the wagon.

“Let them go. Their clothes will wash,” he said as he pulled her into his arms. They stood in the gathering darkness and listened to the excited chattering of the twins. Jenny had heard kittens in the loft and was calling to Jamie to bring a lantern so they could find them in the gloom. A soft glow soon filtered through the slits in the barn, and they heard Jamie climbing up the ladder in haste.

“And who do you propose to do this washing?” Faith asked him pertly as they listened to the oohs and aahs coming from the loft.

Ian was glad that Faith was not dwelling on Elizabeth’s passing. “I volunteer to do some washing, but I’m not interested in washing clothes,” he said with a flash of his boyish grin.

“And what do you propose to wash?” Faith was flirting outright
with him, and Ian felt the familiar tightening in his loins.

“Everything I can get my hands on,” he replied and pulled her close for a kiss. Faith felt her world spinning, as she always did when he kissed her. She leaned heavily into him and let him have
his way with her mouth, his hands pressing her into his hips. He
finally pulled away and leaned his forehead down on hers. Faith
looked up at the devilish glint twinkling in his deep blue eyes.

“I’d better fix us something to eat,” she said.

“I’m not hungry.”

“They will be.” She inclined her head towards the barn, then let
her eyes slide down the front of him and settle on the obvious bulge in his pants. “You can eat later,” she said pointedly and turned to go into the house. As she reached the porch she gave
him another look that took his breath away. Ian decided then and there that bedtime was coming early for everyone that night. The
sooner he got the chores done, the sooner he could retire.

Faith went into the house to fix a quick supper for the family,
and Ian turned to the business of unhitching the buckboard. He
noticed that Storm seemed unduly agitated. At first he had thought
that it was just the excitement of the family returning home, but then he decided that something else was bothering the stallion. He would restlessly dance about the corral, then stop, facing the darkness with his ears pricked. Ian whistled for him to come, thinking perhaps there was some wild animal stalking out in the brush be
yond the yard. Storm came immediately to his master, but was still
watching beyond the boundaries of the corral. Ian talked to the
animal in soothing tones, hoping to calm him, but Storm just twitched his ears and tail and pawed the ground with his hoof.
The animal suddenly danced away with a snort, and Ian realized that a rider was coming up the drive. Ian went over to light the
lantern that hung by the barn door just as Faith stepped outside
on the porch to call the family in for dinner. She came out into the
yard when she realized they had company.

The man on horseback rode up to the corral and casually dismounted. It wasn’t until he stepped around his horse and into the circle of light that Ian realized he was face to face with Randolph Mason. The years had changed the man, that much was obvious. He was leaner now, the once soft features harder and sharper. The
look of rich boredom had been replaced with a callous cruelty around the eyes and mouth, and everything he wore was emblazoned with his initials, even down to the leather inlays in his boots. Ian felt a shiver run down his spine as the man stepped into the
glow from the lantern, and he regretted he was not wearing his gun. It was under the seat of the buckboard, too far away to do him any good right now. Ian saw Faith stop in her tracks, her hands over her mouth as she realized who it was. Her eyes went to the barn behind Ian where she knew the twins were still engrossed in the kittens. Ian caught her eye as Mason spoke.

“I had given up on finding you, Duncan.” The voice was pure evil.

“Why did you?” Ian asked. He needed to buy some time. He prayed that Jamie had heard the rider and would investigate before coming out of the barn. Faith was behind Mason and could perhaps signal him to bring out the rifle that was kept there for emergencies.

“I came for what you stole from me,” Mason drawled. His fingers tickled the handle of the pistol strapped to his hip. “Lucky for me that Miriam saw you. Do you know how much money I’ve spent trying to track you down? I’ve hired people from Richmond all the way to California to look for you. I had to spend a pretty penny to get your location from her, but
it was worth it.” A look of pure glee came over him. “Of course, I made sure she won’t be able to enjoy it.”