Enchanted Heart (15 page)

Caid seemed to take this statement in the exact way that she had tried to avoid, for his smile widened and he winked at her, which caused her to blush profusely and turn away from him. He caught her flaming cheek in his palm and slowly made her face him again, but this time his eyes told her that he was serious and that if he did not kiss her right then and there, in front of God and everyone, he would certainly perish.

Marty felt his arms slide around her waist, up her back and she did not resist. Instead, she eased closer to him, tipping her chin and parting her lips to accept the warm, undulating sensation of his lips as they caressed hers. Ignoring the glances from the people who sat and stood around the fire, she melted into him as if no others existed. She clung to him, drinking in his manly scent, tasting his steamy breath, touching the hard ripples of muscle beneath his shirt and glimpsing the glistening blue of his impassioned eyes through her half-lowered lids.

This was Heaven, she mused in her muddled mind. To have him hold her, kiss her, save her life in more ways than one, was to fly upon gossamer wings over streets of gold. To melt into him, becoming a part of him as Eve was a part of Adam was her true and ultimate revival. And to dare to hope, to wish, to dream that this adoring, caring, beautifully handsome man would hope, wish and dream to take her all the way to the Pearly Gates in an eruption of passion, was more than she could envision in her hopeful heart.

Suddenly, as if shot through a canon, Marty pulled away. Realizing in an instant that they were not alone and that they were being watched, she felt embarrassed and ashamed of her actions. Her heritage and her upbringing told her that she was not married to this man and that she had no right to behave in such a shameless manner.

Caid allowed her to move away from him, for he knew that he had gone too far, especially in the company of her family and the children. As he got to his feet, he whispered an apology to her before he took her hand and pressed it into his lips, bowing ever so politely in front of her. Then he said ‘good-night’ to all and disappeared into the darkness so that he could relive that moment in his mind and to finish it in a fantasy as he had hoped their kiss could have ended. From the dark shadows of the wagons, he watched her drape her arms around herself as if the loss of his arms around her made her empty and lonely. For some reason, this brought satisfaction to his aching heart and his deprived body but it still did not satiate his starving soul, for without her, he felt incomplete, barren and desolate like a desert wasteland.

She was the water that quenched his thirst, the bread that filled his hungry heart and the vital air that breathed life into him from the very moment that he had seen her standing amongst her students that day almost a month ago when he had found his way into New Braunfels, the day that he had decided that all that was left for him to do was to go back home and die a lonely death of bored luxury. But his past had melted away like a fleeting springtime snowfall when he’d seen a brighter future in her smiling face.

He had done it all, seen it all and had experienced it all. All but love, which he had decided would never find him until he’d seen her flying auburn curls and her adoring smile as she gathered the children from the school yard and then ushered them inside, looking back to make sure that they all were accounted for. Oh, how he’d wished that her eyes had seen him watching her in the shadows of the blacksmith’s shop, but they never caught a glimpse of him. And when she had waved toward him, he had waved back, elated that she had finally seen him. But, his heart had fallen when the man next to him had called to her and had returned her wave.

But he had taken that opportunity to ask the man who that lovely woman was, hoping that she was not his wife and that the blacksmith would offer to introduce him to her. He’d learned that the teacher was that man’s daughter and had been given a stern warning that he would protect her from the stranger who’d inquired about her. And Caid had kept his distance out of respect for the burly blacksmith and for the beauty that was his daughter until he had learned that the teacher was moving west and her party needed a guide to take them there.

How his heart had danced when he had sat behind a table on the porch of the general store and had handed the ledger and pen to each of the heads of households that intended to sign up for the journey. He had waited, almost too impatiently, for the woman in question to make her appearance in order to enter her signature and to drop her velvet bag of coins into his metal box. And when their eyes had met, when they had touched briefly, he knew by her startled expression and her subsequent quick departure that their encounter had prompted her to sing a silent song of elation as much as it had stimulated him to do the same.

Yep, he would have brought them here for free if he’d have believed that it wouldn’t look suspicious. So, he’d taken her money, just like he’d accepted the payment from the other four families and he’d marched the box right over to the school building and had donated it with a sincere smile and a hope that it would be put to good use. Then, he’d waited the week of endlessness while they had all filled their wagons with the things that they just could not live without and on that first day of their journey, he’d caught her eye and he knew that this trip would be a journey to remember.

Now, in the shadows of a distant wagon, Caid sucked in a breath of life-giving air and kicked his booted foot at the stick that he had been leaning upon before he took one last look at the woman who had taken his breath away and continued to do so in every exasperating motion that she took, every blue-eyed glance that she gave him and in every sigh of contentment that he coaxed out of her. Then, he disappeared into the darkness to let his unconscious mind take over and continue the dishonorable thoughts that he had conjured up.

Marty hugged herself, feeling the emptiness that his departure had caused in her very soul. The cold night air abated the warmth that he had taken with him when he had disappeared from the circle of the firelight. For long moments, she gazed at the flames that licked at the night sky, reliving the rapture of their union and ignoring the astonished, glaring stare from the pious Mrs. Bader. Her eyes danced their merriment at the recollection of his kiss and her heart fluttered uncontrollably against her bosom while she wished that his hard chest was pressed there in a passion that would most certainly cause the old woman to swoon in mortification. Then, she politely excused herself to go to bed where she could dream about it in peace and fantasize about a time when she could realize just how wonderful paradise would be with Aiden Kincaid McAllister.

As she passed a wagon that stood across the meadow from hers, a lonesome transport that had been left in the darkness when its inhabitants had gone to mingle with the other families, Marty thought she saw a shadow standing beside it. She could make out the features of a man who leaned upon a stick, his large hand dangling leisurely in the air. While she eased herself into the shadows of her own wagon, she watched with growing intrigue as the dark figure leaned forward as if he had seen her watching him. She sucked in a breath and ducked farther into the darkness, but then peered out to see if he would leave his shadowy sanctuary and come toward her to admonish her for scrutinizing him.

He still leaned forward, his head illuminated by the moonlight. The man tilted that head, causing the moon’s rays to reveal his face slightly. In an instant, she recognized those cheekbones, the angled jaw line, those wispy black curls that danced in the darkness. And in that same instant, she found herself recalling a similar figure that she had seen one day while she had waved to Sven while he had stood in his blacksmith shop next to a figure of a man who had also waved to her. Suddenly aware of the memory of that man and the reaction that he had caused in her, Marty quickly retreated to her wagon to recall that day just before she had signed up to make this journey.

She remembered it like it had happened just yesterday. She had stopped to talk to Sven and he had tried to talk her out of leaving her mother and taking her sister with her but she had reminded him of Papa’s dream and her promise to make it come to fruition. Of course, Sven had relented as he always had when Marty had argued with him, for he knew that she was steadfast in her convictions and no amount of words from him or anyone would change her mind. Then, he had hugged her and had told her that he loved her as if she were his very own daughter and she had said that she loved him too and then she had left him to go to school.

Later, when she had let the younger children play outside while the older ones were taking a test, she had seen that indistinguishable figure talking to Sven. For some unknown reason, her heart had fluttered when both Sven and the man had waved to her—or had she waved first? She had seen the stranger tilt his head as her hand tilted back and forth in the morning air. Mesmerized by the angles of the stranger’s darkened features, she had seemed paralyzed by the sudden spark of interest that surged through her. Then, her hand had slowly fallen to her chest as if a great weight had been lifted and she had felt giddy and carefree, as if that simple gesture by some shadowy stranger could instantly heal her heart. Feeling ever so lightheaded, Marty had stumbled into the schoolhouse just as she now stumbled into her wagon to hide.

Then, she suddenly recalled the day that she had signed the ledger on the general store’s porch and the visage of that same angled face in the shadow of the awning flashed into her mind. On that day, too, she was compelled to hide in the safety of her little house just a few blocks from Mama and Sven’s house. Right then, as well as both times that she had encountered him, Marty was not sure if she was hiding from Caid or from the panic—or was it excitement—of falling helplessly in love with him. What she was certain of, though, was that she had been changed that day in the schoolyard and then again on the porch of the general store where she had signed her allegiance to him and she realized that she was learning to love all over again with each moment that she spent with him.

Chapter Sixteen

Dreams, wonderful, blissful dreams slowly drifted to reality as the dawn burst into the enchantment of Marty’s delightful dilemma. She lay in her blankets pondering her problem while wishing that she could just close her eyes tightly and dive back into that heavenly vision that seemed so incredibly authentic, as if the scenes that played out in her drowsy mind were truly happening to her. In those dreams, she had tossed aside propriety, had ignored her fear of intimacy and the losses of love and had thrown herself wholeheartedly into Caid’s arms. But as morning cleared her delirious mind, a new quandary surfaced, filling her with a muddled jumble of questions, of uncertainties.

What should she do she asked herself as she slowly, almost reluctantly eased herself from her bed and dressed in warm attire. Should she continue allowing herself to fall in love with the man who took her breath away or should she stop it right then and there, ceasing her own need to drown herself in the depths of his deep blue eyes and to survive in the warmth of his strong and protective arms?

Her answer came in the smile that greeted her at the morning campfire and the twinkling blue-eyed wink, which suggested that the same life-like dreams that she had experienced had come to him in his own imaginary trip to paradise and that he would, in no uncertain terms, try his devil-best to make them come true.

It was decided in her heart, if not in her dutiful mind, that she would take that step into a territory where she had vowed never to set foot again. She would allow herself to break down that barrier between her heart and that which she so longed to possess. Love and all its glory would be the foundation for her ultimate survival and only one man could suffice as her savior.

Caid wrapped her in his arms and sealed her fate in a heart-pounding kiss, sending her reeling once again into that realm of ecstasy where love abounds. Then, slowly releasing her so that she would not swirl into the dizzying depths of delight, he kept his arm around her shoulder while he whispered, “I have something to show you.”

“What is it? Where are we going?” she asked with increasing enthusiasm as she let him take her by the hand and lead her toward two saddled horses.

“You’ll see,” was all he would relinquish while ignoring her questioning glances and the repeated request for an explanation to his suspicious actions.

“What about the wagon? Who will drive it for me? Who does this horse belong to?” she asked in one breath when they mounted and spurred the horses away from the camp where others were hitching their teams for the day’s journey.

“That’s Daniel Bader’s horse and he’s driving your wagon for you,” Caid told her over his shoulder as he touched his heel to his mount’s side. “I think young Daniel offered to do it because he seems to have an eye for Greta.”

“She’s too old for him,” Marty scoffed as she rode up beside Caid. “And she still loves Gunnar. I don’t think that she will ever love again.”

“All will happen as it was meant to be,” Caid said, almost in a whisper as he spurred his mount into motion. Thrilled, Marty followed suit and off they went, galloping away, galloping toward a destination that only Caid was privy to.

Her sister was forgotten, her wagon was forgotten as she rode that gelding far, far away from the wagon train, from Papa’s expectations, from Mrs. Bader’s squinty eyes. This was Marty’s opportunity to find peace in her surroundings, to find love in the arms of the man who offered her more than a promise of land for the taking, more than love just because it is available, more than life entitled by the gift of birth.

Caid quickly looked back to see if she was following, but he knew in his heart that she was. He knew that she craved this distance away from the prying eyes of the others as much as he did. He felt that this was his opportunity to breach the invisible barrier between them. With no one to see them, to hear their conversation or to admonish them for their actions, he was free to do anything with her that his heart desired. But he was content just to have her all to himself, to ride beside her on a carefree journey to a marvelous destination that he knew would delight her.