Ride The Wild Wind (Time Travel Historical Romance) (22 page)

“Marriage is a really big step, Antonio.”

He tore his shirt off, balled it up and pitched it toward one of the far
flung boots. What was she babbling on and on about?

“And I’m really flattered that you would ask me to be your wife, but…”

Flattered?
The dark look he shot her silenced her mid-sentence.

He dropped his pants, revealing a painful erection.

He bathed alone in the refreshing water as she rested nearby but the
bath did nothing to quell his desire. In fact, the water’s rippled caresses on
his skin felt much like her tender touches. As he refreshed himself, he
recalled their last intimate moments together the day before when he had nearly
taken her. She hadn’t known how close he had come, or how weak his restraint
grew with each passing day. Why was she being stubborn?  What did she
truly fear might happen if they married?  

Once he finished bathing, he started a small fire, then stretched out
beside her and covered them both with the blanket. It would be difficult to
spend many more nights beside her without acting on his desires. He scooted a
few inches away to put distance between them, but she snuggled up to his back.
Momentarily, he felt her warm hand curl around his sex.

“No,” he protested feebly, but she could not be deterred. He was too
exhausted to fight. Besides, her hand was gentle and warm. Comforting. He
closed his eyes, surrendering as she stroked him feverishly. But this would not
satisfy him, nor her. He needed to be inside her.  

 Muttering a curse beneath his breath, he flopped onto his back,
tossed off the blanket. Her eyes were wide, misted with desire, desire evident
in their passionate depths. She’d also shed her clothing, much to his approval.
By the flicker of firelight, he drank in his fill. Luscious lips and
heart-shaped face. Slender shoulders, pert breasts and softly flared
hips.  He reached over, he lazily stroked her naked thigh with his
knuckles. “You’re a welcome sight.”

She bit down on her lower lip and looked away. He had the odd feeling
she wanted to say something but was uncertain.

“Are you angry with me?” Disappointment was evident in her quiet voice.

He sighed, rubbed his eyes. “No. I am not angry.” And he wasn’t, but
merely exhausted. The raid on the fort had not gone well despite his weeks of
meticulous planning and surveillance. Instead of confiscating grains and smoked
meats, a few younger men defied his orders and stole liquor. Two of Sonny’s men
were also dead. How would he tell their families the mission failed? No, that
he
had failed. Doubt crept in once more as he questioned whether he would ever
win this insane fight for The People’s freedom.

Realizing how harsh his reactions must seem to Halle, he reached up and
stroked her cheek to reassure her. “I am only tired. We should sleep now.” He
tucked his hands behind his head before closing his eyes. “Besides, we have a
long ride ahead of us tomorrow.”

“Antonio?”

“Yes?”

“You led these men on a raid against one of the forts, am I right?”

“I don’t want you involved in any of this.”

“Was it Fort Dennison?”

“Let it go.”

She sat up. “But I need to tell you something important.”

“
Lie down and go to sleep.” He’d not meant to sound harsh, but he
wasn’t up to a discussion.

She did as he asked, turning on her side away from him. Although he
could not see her face, he knew he had hurt her feelings. Still, she had no
business getting involved in his clandestine affairs. No need to make her an
accessory to his crimes.

A while later, she spoke quietly into the darkness. “Antonio, please
don’t shut me out. I’ve already figured out what you’re up to. You’re supplying
guns to the Navajo. You’re raiding the forts for food and livestock.”

“The Navajo’s
stolen
livestock,” he corrected. 

She turned onto her side and scooted close. “Don’t you realize you’re in
danger? If you keep this up, you’ll be killed.”

“You don’t understand. I have no choice. Without me, innocent people
will die…babies and children….the elderly.”

“But you’re the one who will die if you continue. The government will
execute you when you’re caught.”

“Perhaps, but at least I
will die with honor. Can the army claim
such in their slaughter and maiming of innocent women and children?”

He clenched his eyes shut, hoping she would not pursue the topic. She
was silent and he realized she could not possibly know the incident to which he
referred. His heart seized in his chest at the thought of Lukachukai and
Mariposa—the horror of the attack. Tears threatened as guilt clawed a gaping hole
deep in the middle of his soul. He should have been there for his wife and the
children. He never should have gone to California, leaving them to fend for
themselves.

Opening his eyes, near total darkness greeted him. The fire had nearly
burned out. Making his way through the inkiness, he hacked off limbs of low
growing brush with his knife and then tossed it on the ashen coals. Once the
tinder relit, he returned to their shared blanket. He rolled over to make
certain she wasn’t cold and felt the wetness on her cheek when he brushed the
back of his hand across her face.

She started to turned away, but he quickly gathered her in his arms and
pulled her snug against him. Cradling her head with one hand, he breathed in the
sunshine scent of her hair, nuzzled the softness of her damp cheek. She wept
quietly as he held her, his heart breaking.

“Why…” He choked on his words as he struggled to retain composure. “Why
are you crying, Halle?”

She didn’t answer.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Only a handful of men, including Sonny, remained with them the next day
as they journeyed northwest into higher elevations. Halle’d watched the others
ride out shortly after dawn.

They made another grueling trek across the rocky, sun scorched terrain and
into a mountainous region populated with fragrant fir and spruce trees.

The first night they camped, Halle lay quietly beside Antonio, not
touching or speaking. He’d held her in his arms the night before, but now an
invisible gap had widened between them. It felt as if they were strangers all
over again and she didn’t understand the silence. Before dusk the following
evening, they arrived at yet another encampment, this one filled with women and
children and a few of the same men she recognized from the raiding party—One
Ear, included.

A group of giggling teenage girls approached and snatched at her hair.
One poked a stick at Max and she quickly tucked him into the leather papoose
bag for safety. A few people stared as if she were the freak show in a traveling
circus while others turned away in apparent disgust. Antonio called out to two
women in the crowd—one, an older woman with mostly graying hair, and another
who appeared to be nearer her own age. He explained something to the two women
at great length in their own language and then turned toward her.

“Go with them. My aunt and cousin will take care of you.”

Without further explanation, Halle was led away by the two women to a
semi-dome shaped, windowless hut fashioned of logs and dried clay. There were
an elderly man and woman inside when she arrived and a young boy in the
shadowed corner, drawing lines and figures in the earthen floor. A blue and
gray blanket was thrown over one shoulder, barely covering his left arm.

Halle’s heart lurched in her chest when she saw the scarred stump
peeking from beneath the blanket.
Dear God!
What happened to the child’s
hand?

He wouldn’t look up, yet she felt his attention on her and Max all the
same. Not uncomfortable, but one of curiosity. Perhaps he’d never seen a woman
who wasn’t from his tribe. Or maybe he was fascinated by the dog. Max
was
a cutie, after all. She smiled softly at the boy when their eyes did finally
meet, but he averted his quickly.

“Would you like to pet Max?” She lifted the dog from his pouch and held
him up for the child to see. “He especially likes to be scratched under his
chin. You can play fetch with him if you like.” The boy did not respond and
instead went back to scratching figures in the dirt. Halle decided he either
didn’t understand English or he didn’t want to interact with a stranger.

The old man and the boy left the hut soon afterward but the elderly
woman stayed, sitting across the way. She began to sing softly.

Halle was instructed by Antonio’s aunt to sit on the dirt floor where
she was served a meat-based stew that rivaled Rosa’s tasty fare. And it beat
Antonio’s dried up animal stew thingy all to hell. She picked out a chunk of
meat for Max and he grinned, his tongue wagging happily as she placed it at his
feet.

As she ate, a thought struck her. Where had Antonio gone? Had he left
her with these women to go on another raid? Or to see another woman?

The three women present, the teenage girl, middle-aged woman, and
elderly one, sat silently by as if she weren’t even there. While it was rather
awkward to eat alone, she was
s
tarving and the stew filled her growling
stomach. Once she finished, the younger girl, Antonio’s cousin, took the bowl
away and left the hut, returning a moment later with a black and white woven
blanket dress and a pair of tan, beaded moccasins. His aunt left, too, then
returned with a tiny clay pot filled with water. She set it on the ground in
front of Halle. The old woman, who’d since fallen asleep, snored heartily on a
pallet of hides.

“Wash,” his aunt ordered.

Halle was surprised the woman spoke English, although she figured it was
probably one of the few words she knew. Most likely Antonio had taught her.

“Do you understand English?” she asked the girl.

The girl’s gaze did not lift from the floor. “Yes.”

“Great. Tell everyone to clear out so I can bathe.”

“Wash,” his aunt repeated. She reached down and tugged at Halle’s shirt
collar.

Antonio’s young cousin stared at her own feet while his aunt remained at
her side, dark eyes averted, the set of her jaw, firm. She said something to
the girl.

“My mother says to remove everything that is dirty.”

“But I don’t have anything under my clothes.” Halle sensed she’d
committed some breach of etiquette as the woman continued to wait.

 Halle sighed. At this rate, she’d be arguing all day for a moment
of privacy. What the hell. There were only females in the room. “Fine.” She
slipped out of Antonio’s shirt.

She tried to get a casual conversation started but either the other women
didn’t understand much English or they didn’t want to engage in chit chat. They
stood by, their gaze averted, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary to have
a naked stranger in their home.

 “Um…” Hallie held out the shirt. “Okay, now what’s next?”

The girl took Halle’s shirt and whisked it away. She expected it might
be laundered and returned. That wasn’t the case. The young woman
unceremoniously tossed it into the fire pit in the center of the hut.

“Oh, my God! You just burned my clothes!”

“We will give you new ones.”

Antonio’s aunt pointed to the pot of water at her feet. “Wash.”

Speechless, Halle sank to the hard, dirt floor, shivering, feeling not
only defeated but suddenly more naked and vulnerable than ever. She was going
to kill Antonio for putting her through this.

Realizing Max was staring, she cleared her throat loudly. “Ahem. Do you
mind?”

Giving a high pitched whine, the little dog laid on his belly and put
his muzzle to the ground.

The old woman awoke and began to sing again and Antonio’s aunt and
cousin returned to scraping small animal hides in the corner and murmuring
between themselves.

Once she finished bathing, Antonio’s young cousin extended a hand and
helped her stand. His aunt inspected the pink, crusty scab on her knee before
smearing on a pungent smelling, greasy ointment. With the young girl acting as
interpreter, his aunt inquired of the injury.

“I fell,” Halle answered and the girl relayed the message. The two women
talked quietly, then louder. The young girl’s eyes darted to Halle, then back
at her aunt. Antonio’s young cousin lowered her eyes.

“My mother asks if you carry Antonio’s child.”

Halle snorted. “Yeah, right. Antonio has too much honor or some freaking
stupid crap like that. No, I’m not pregnant.” She patted her tummy. “Just have
a mild case of bloating with PMS. Tell Auntie here to not start knitting
booties just yet.”

Antonio’s young cousin turned to the other woman and spoke, then
proceeded to help Halle into the blanket dress. The older woman cinched the waist
tight with a sash. Although warm, the wool was rough against her bare breasts.
Antonio’s cousin, carefully brushed the tangles from Halle’s hair with a short,
stiff, broom-like brush and pulled it back into a mini-bun, binding it with
strips of white yarn.

Halle pulled on the pair of soft, hide leggings handed to her, then
slipped into the moccasins, almost a size too small. Still, the leather was
soft and comforting on her tired, calloused feet. She flexed her toes,
stretching them a bit.

Everyone left.

She expected Antonio might come for her, or that his aunt and cousin
would return in a while, but as hours passed and night fell, no one came. She
began to wonder if she’d been left alone for the night without food or water or
even wood to keep the small fire in the center of the crude log and mud
structure stoked. She didn’t even know where the bathroom was.

Some time later she heard voices. Max awoke and gave a low growl, but
she stroked his chin and reassured him he didn’t need to rip anyone’s leg off.

An old man and woman entered. Even in the near pitch darkness, she
recognized the voice of the woman as the lady who’d been in the hut upon her
arrival. Halle sat up and made a tight fist, not knowing what to expect but
prepared to clobber anyone who touched her. They said nothing to her as they
bedded down together on the skins nearby. Who were these strangers? And just
where in the hell was Antonio?

Exhausted, but feeling relatively safe these strangers weren’t going to
carve her into lunch meat, she decided to give into sleep, but rats kept
pestering her. The ground was cold and hard and the night sounds of the
encampment strange. Babies coughed and cried. Dogs barked. She heard the wail
of a wolf and the snort of horses stirring uneasily. Unable to sleep, she rose
and slipped from the hut without waking the elderly couple.

Wood smoke clung to the chilly night air and she wished she’d brought
the blanket. She wandered through the sleeping encampment with Max trotting at
her side, not knowing where she was going but only that she needed to find
Antonio.

She’d almost made it to the edge of the camp when she heard footfalls
behind her. Max let out a string of snarls and she snatched him up and held him
firm in her arms.

A petite woman about her own size stood a few feet away. Ordinarily the
sight of another female wouldn’t have frightened her, but there was something
menacing about her stance. Antonio had warned her that the Navajo didn’t trust
outsiders. Perhaps this woman followed her with the intention of doing harm.

“Looking for Antonio, Crazy Hair?” the woman asked with a slight accent.

The hair rose on the back of Halle’s neck.
Oh really?
She was
Crazy Hair now?
Ohhh, this bitch was cruising for a major ass kicking.
“As
a matter of fact I
am
looking for Antonio.” She hoped she masked the
fear and anger in her voice. “Who the hell are you?”

The woman laughed.  “Antonio did not tell you about me, Crazy
Hair?”

A sickening feeling hit Halle in the center of her stomach. Was this
Antonio’s wife—his girlfriend? She caught a flash of something silvery glinting
in the woman’s hand. Halle took two steps backward, fearing it might be a
knife. Still, she held her ground. Her heart pounded out of control, but she
wouldn’t allow herself to be intimidated. She lifted her chin a notch and
straightened. “Do you know where Antonio is?”

“You should not wander away,” the shadowed figure answered, obviously
ignoring her question. “There are many dangers here for a woman who is alone.”

“Then tell me where I might find Antonio and I won’t be alone anymore.”
Damn,
that was a brilliant come back!

The woman laughed. “You will find him sleeping in our family’s hogan
tonight. After all, I am his wife.”

Halle’s knees began to buckle, but she quickly recovered. His wife?

She watched the woman smooth her hands over her a noticeably rounded
tummy.

“Did he not tell you he had a wife…that our child will be born when the
last snow comes?”

The world around her tilted. Halle fought to breathe. No! Say it wasn’t
so. Is that why the bastard hadn’t touched her these past two days, why he
didn’t force himself on her from the beginning when he had the opportunity? The
lying, smooth talking snake already had a pregnant wife waiting for him at
home?  

Hot tears blinded her at her own stupidity. How could she have allowed
him to seduce her with his charm? How could she have let him trick her into
cooperating with him long enough to accompany him to this godforsaken Indian
camp? Did he expect her to become his second wife? Or his whore? Well too
damned bad. That was
sooo
not
going to happen.

Halle turned her face, not wanting the woman—no, his bitchy little
wifey-poo—to see tears. Her mind went into a whirl, recalling Antonio’s sweet
kisses and gentle caresses by the pool. He’d seemed sincere the other night,
telling her he wanted her to marry him. Yet it had all been a sham.

Huge tears rolled down her cheeks and she swiped at them with her hands.
Damn the lying rat bastard! His tender words meant nothing! He was probably
dishing out the same cheesy lines to his wife, this pregnant witch of a woman
standing before her!

Then she wondered if he’d also lied about not handing her over to Cole
for the reward. Perhaps he only seduced her with his sweet words to get her to
cooperate and return with him to the camp until he could make arrangements to
turn her in.

She couldn’t trust him anymore. She had to get out of this place, and
fast. Come sun up, she was leaving this hell hole, even if she had to steal a
horse and learn how to ride the damned thing on her own!

But first, she was going to give that cheating snake a piece of her
mind. God help him when she finished with his sorry ass.

* * * * *

That night, Antonio dreamed he and Halle were back at the pool making
love. He came fully awake, instantly realizing it wasn’t Halle snuggled against
him beneath the covers. He threw back the hide pelt, then the blanket. His eyes
strained to focus on the dark, naked feminine form which rose up beside him.
Doli
?
“What are you doing here?” he whispered in Navajo, as so not to awaken his
aunt, uncle, cousin and Lukachukai who slept nearby. He sat up quickly.

“It has been months since you left. I missed you.”

He maneuvered about the hogan as quietly as possible, gathering his
boots and shirt, although he was fairly certain they had already awakened most
of his family.

He fastened his breeches
.
“You must leave, Doli. We are no longer
married.”

“That has never stopped you from coming to me in the past.”

He rubbed his eyes with his thumb pads and shook off a chill. “I have
not come to you often,” he replied, barely above a whisper. “What was between
us has long ended.”