Jodi Thomas (19 page)

“Tell him”—Tobin nodded toward Chance’s sleeping body—“that I’ll check on that little lady he told me about when I get near Galveston.”

Anna’s cheeks burned as she realized Chance had told Tobin about the Maggie he’d whispered of in his dreams. “What lady?” Anna tried to sound calm, only slightly interested.

Tobin winked as if Chance having another woman was no great sin. “Reckon he’ll tell you about her in his own time.”

“What should I know about her?”

Tobin scratched his chin. “You got a full bucket of worry right now, missy.” He turned and headed into the trees, still talking. “You just get that man of yours well first. He knows you ain’t got time to handle any more problems than the Lord already gave you.”

Anna opened her mouth to call out to Tobin, but knew he would just keep on walking. The man had the manners of a yard dog, but Chance had shared his story of Maggie with the old man and not with her.

When the sounds of Tobin talking to his horse had long left the air, Anna forced a few more swallows of whiskey down Chance’s throat. As his body relaxed from the cramps, she curled beside him, planning to sleep for just an hour.

Afternoon shadows lay across the campsite when she next opened her eyes. Chance’s arm was curled around her like a tight cocoon and the fire had died.

Rolling over, Anna ran her hands along his sides, familiar now with the muscular hardness of his frame. He was cooler. She continued touching him, making sure his face, his arms, and his chest were cooler. A sudden fear gripped her heart. Laying her ear against his chest, she listened to the steady thud of his heart pounding against her cheek. Relief flooded over Anna. He was alive and the fever had passed! Chance was alive. She hugged him to her and began to cry, her tears falling against his bare chest.

It took her several minutes to gain enough control to pull away from him. His violent cramps may have stopped, but there was still much to be done. She rebuilt the fire, washed his clothes, hung them on the nearby bushes to dry, and cut pieces of jerky from the hunk Tobin had left them. When the jerky was placed in boiling water, the meat swelled up and made a stew with a hearty broth.

Cradling Chance’s head in her arms, she fed him a few spoonfuls, succeeding only in dripping it all over both of them. She washed him off, enjoying the feel of his flesh beneath her fingers now that it was no longer hot with fever. She knew she was spending far more time than necessary, but she’d never touched a man so, and the action sent a pleasant stir deep within her.

The shadows had melted into evening when Anna left his side and walked to the stream. With aching shoulders, she removed her blouse and washed in the cold water, longing to strip off all her clothes and swim, but an eerie feeling of being watched warned her against it.

Even when she returned to camp, Anna couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was observing her every movement. Cyoty must have felt it also, for he stomped and snorted at the air, his ears up and alert to every sound.

Anna ignored the feeling, knowing she had enough to worry about without seeing ghosts behind every tree. She tried to feed Chance the rest of the stew, and this time he swallowed several bites before falling back against the blankets. Covering him gently, Anna stood and carried the empty pots down to the stream to wash them.

Just as she reached the water’s edge, something moved from the brush. Before she could scream, a hand covered her mouth and the sudden jolt sent the pots in her fingers flying across the rocks by the stream. “Good evening, Anna,” Walter said as he materialized from the shadows.

Anna jerked away from him, anger replacing her fear. “What are you doing? You nearly frightened me to death.”

“I thought I’d come check on you. Now that your husband is dying, you may take my offer more seriously.”

Shoving past him, she answered, “I’m not interested in you or anything you have to say.”

“Now, Anna.” Grabbing her arm, Walter stopped her progress. “You can hardly afford to play so highborn when you may be left a widow again very soon.”

“I don’t see that as your concern.” Anna pulled away, but he grabbed her again before she could get past him. His fingers bit into her arms and Anna cried out in pain. “Let go of me!”

Walter’s neck grew red with anger. “Now don’t be in too much of a hurry. I know your problem better than anyone.” He smiled a wicked grin that wrinkled his fat cheeks into a thousand ripples. “You see, I knew about William and your mother.”

Anger and embarrassment blended in the fire of her cheeks. “What about my mother?”

Pulling her closer, he whispered, “It’s not your mother I’m concerned with. What matters is that I know the whole story. William Meyer was a fool never to train you. You’re like a fine horse that needs to be broken to the saddle.” His laughter frightened her as much as his words. “You’ll buck a few times, but then you’ll gentle up and love it. Who knows? Maybe you’ll take to bedding as ardently as your mother did.”

As Anna opened her mouth to scream, Walter’s lips covered hers. Pulling her tightly against him, he pressed his mouth upon hers with bruising force while his short fingers dug into the flesh of her arms, ignoring her struggle.

Wild, unbridled rage exploded inside Anna.
No!
her mind screamed. Not again. She kicked and fought with all her strength and pulled her mouth from Walter’s.

He laughed and Anna saw the glimmer of insanity in his eyes. “Don’t worry, Anna, I’m only giving you a free lesson today. After we’re married, I’ll have every night to ride you until your legs fall open with exhaustion. I’ll have years to train you to be as good in bed as your dear dead mother was.”

As he struggled to pull her closer, a shot rang in their ears. Anna heard the bullet fly past her, only inches from her ear. Walter froze, his grip still tight around her waist. The lust in his eyes was replaced with fear in the moment it took the shot’s sound to die.

Chance’s voice rang clear in the night air. “The only reason that wasn’t through your skull, Schmitz, is that I didn’t want to risk hurting my wife.”

Anna felt Walter shake as though a great earthquake was rumbling inside him. “Chance,” he whispered in her ear. She twisted to see her husband, but the darkness beneath the trees hid him.

“Turn her loose
now
!” The order was crystal clear. “Or this settlement will be minus one more member.”

Recovering his voice, Walter answered, “Now don’t get upset. I was just comforting Anna.” He slowly released her. “We thought you were near death.”

“If you ever touch her again I’ll gun you down, even if I have to come back from the grave to do it.” Chance’s voice seethed with barely controlled hatred. “Get out of my sight, Schmitz.”

Anna heard the click of Chance’s gun as Walter dove into the brush. She listened as he ran, swearing and yelling in pain with every few steps. Laughter escaped her as she hurried toward Chance’s voice. “I hope the brush scrapes the hide right off that pig,” she said as Walter’s German and English curses sounded from farther away.

When she reached the edge of their camp, Chance was leaning against a tree, his long form only a shadow. He’d slipped his pants on but nothing else. As she moved closer she saw the gun hanging at his side and his head drooping forward. When she touched him, his weight fell toward her as though he barely managed to hold on until she caught him. She almost collapsed under the load. Slowly, Anna put her arms around him and pulled him to the blankets.

Chance walked with great effort. “I didn’t shoot him because I wasn’t that sure of my aim.” His words were short, uttered from between clenched teeth.

Anna laid him none too gently upon the covers. “I’m amazed you had the energy to move so far.” He was like a huge rag doll in her arms as she tumbled down beside him.

“I would have been there sooner, but someone removed my gun, along with my clothes.” She could see the hint of a smile on his lips as he rested against the blankets.

Anna wasn’t about to talk of such things. “You were there when I needed you.”

Gripping her hand when she slid the blanket over him, he asked as he recovered his breath, “Did he hurt you?”

She was silent for so long he wasn’t sure she’d heard his question. Then a long sigh escaped her, making room for a calmness to settle in. Finally, she whispered, “No.”

Chance pulled her against him. “Thank God,” he mumbled into her hair as she rested atop his heart.

Anna lay beside Chance, wanting to feel the protection of his arms. “He only kissed me. I can still feel his mouth touching mine, and it makes me want to scrub my entire face with lye soap.”

Chance’s face was only an inch from her own. “The same way my kiss made you feel that night?”

“No!” How could he compare his kiss to Walter’s? “Your kiss broke our agreement, but it didn’t disgust me.”

The firelight reflected in the twinkle of his eyes. “I’m glad.” He moved closer until his lips touched her ear. “There’s only one way to erase a distasteful kiss from your lips.”

Anna felt an unfamiliar excitement within her. “How?”

Chance’s beard stroked her cheek ever so gently. “You’ll have to remain still for as long as the cure takes.”

Anna knew it was mad to be this close to him, but for the first time in days she felt happy, and she didn’t want the feeling to end. “I’ll do anything. Give me the medicine.”

Lightly, Chance’s lips touched the corner of her mouth. “Then I’ll do the best I can to help you.” His full bottom lip slid across her mouth so lightly she wasn’t sure he was actually touching her. “Although I’ve been promised death if I kiss you again, I figure I’m so near it I haven’t got much to lose.”

Anna lay back and enjoyed the feathery kisses he placed along her cheeks and across her lips. His hand moved up to pull the pins from her hair. As the thick mass tumbled free, he slowly moved his fingers through it as though touching silk.

“Tell me, Anna, would you take my life for this?” Chance brushed her nose with his cheek.

“No,” Anna answered honestly. He’d been right about the cure; she no longer felt the bitterness of Walter’s bruising attack.

As Chance’s lips touched hers again, his hand spread wide along her waist. “Kiss me back, Anna. Let me feel your lips caress mine as your hands caressed my face and chest.”

She tensed in the darkness. “You were awake? Why didn’t you say something?”

He trailed kisses along her cheek to her ear before answering, “I was enjoying it too much.” His voice grew low. “Touch me like that now when you know I can feel your hand sliding over me.”

“No.” Embarrassment darkened her cheeks. “I was only keeping the fever down.”

“Don’t lie to me.” She felt his strong jaw tighten. “Lord, don’t ever lie. Not when we both know the truth.”

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she wouldn’t let them fall. She ducked her head into the hollow of his throat and remained silent. She couldn’t say the words, but she knew the truth. She’d enjoyed his gentle kisses. She’d loved the feel of him. Even now with his warm body pressed close to her and his hands at her waist, she loved the nearness of this man.

The strange pains came in her stomach again. She felt her insides turn and knew Chance had felt the movement with his hands.

“I felt it!” He leaned up on one elbow but didn’t remove his hand from her stomach.

Anna hated to complain of such a small pain when only hours ago Chance had been ripped apart by fierce stomach cramps. “I’ve been having them for weeks. At first I thought I was getting the fever, but they seem to grow no worse or more painful.”

Chance burst out laughing. “Don’t you know what they are?”

She resented his tone but curiosity forced her to admit she didn’t know.

Brushing her hair back with his hand, he whispered, “It’s been a long time, but I remember feeling the same thing when my mother was pregnant. It’s the baby moving inside you.”

Anna pushed his hand aside and spread her fingers wide. “My baby?”

Chance’s smile warmed her face with his concern. “Have you never been around a woman who was pregnant?”

Slowly, Anna shook her head. “I’ve seen a few, but my mother could have no more children after me. She told me nothing of such things, assuming I’d never need to know.”

One dark eyebrow rose, but Chance didn’t ask the obvious question. Instead he said, “I was pretty young, but I remember my mother saying she was over halfway there when she first felt the baby move. It’ll grow stronger and bigger every day.”

Feeling good to the very core for the first time in her life, she thought of her baby alive inside her. Her dream of having someone to love was growing within her. Now she let the tears fall. “I’m so happy . . . and so frightened.”

Chance pulled her close. “Don’t worry, I’ll be there with you. Between the two of us we can figure out what to do. My mother delivered all alone because everyone else was out working.”

He pushed her hand from her abdomen and spread his fingers wide. “Promise to tell me if there is more pain or if you bleed, and as your skin begins to stretch we can make an ointment that will make the skin softer.”

Anna was too embarrassed to raise her head. She had never dreamed a man would talk of such things to a woman.

Chance stroked her hair and his words grew heavy. “We’ll have to start feeding you better. You don’t look like you’re five months pregnant.”

Anna looked up. His dark lashes rested against his cheeks. The firelight played across his sleeping face, throwing planes of light and shadow across it.

His knowledge had made her feel so happy and his caring had lightened all her worries. On impulse she brushed his sleeping lips with a kiss.

“Good night,” she whispered and cuddled into his open arms.

“Good night, Anna,” he answered with a smile and a promise in his thoughts.