Savage Summer (14 page)

When they reached the driveway that led to the Jameses’ estate, Morgan halted the team and turned to look at Skyler. His hand was resting on the back of her seat, and he moved forward, picking up her locket. When his fingers brushed her skin, Skyler gasped.

“I think you know we need to talk, Skyler.”

She said nothing about his use of her first name. As he walked around the buggy and lifted her to the ground, she wished he would pull her into his arms and tell her that the two of them could breach the gap that separated them.

His hand slowly drifted up her arm and with gentle pressure he pulled her into his arms, as if reading her thoughts. “I remember the taste of your lips and have wondered if they would be as sweet a second time.” His voice was deep and shook with emotion.

Skyler knew she should pull away, but it was as if she belonged in the circle of his arms. This man whom she hadn’t even known until a few short weeks ago had crept into her heart, destroying her peace of mind and turning her whole world upsidedown.

Morgan’s head descended, and she knew he was going to kiss her. His mouth was warm as it covered her lips and she felt herself being drawn tightly against him. Her whole body seemed to be filled with new and exciting feelings. It was as if she were being reborn—he was filling her heart with a warmth and tenderness that she couldn’t fully understand.

Skyler’s arms moved about his neck, and she could feel her head spinning dizzily. She clung to him as if he were her lifeline—indeed, her very life. So many different emotions tripped through her mind. Emotions that were new and unexplored. Soft feelings that warmed her heart—deep emotions that awakened her body as well as her mind.

When Morgan raised his head, he stared down at her in amazement. The moonlight fell softly on Skyler’s face, and he
thought he had never seen anyone so lovely. Her eyes were shining and he could see the confusion in the violet depths.

There were so many things he wanted to say to her, so many feelings he wanted to share, but the intensity of his feelings overwhelmed him.

He pulled her head to rest against his shoulder and ran his hand down her back. “What have you done to me, Skyler Dancing?” he whispered. “You have shaken my world to its foundations.”

She felt his warmth reach out to her. She had no thought of how improper it was to be in the arms of a man she hardly knew. It felt so right to have him hold her.

Raising her face to him, she shook her head. “I do not know what has happened. I need time to think.”

He stared at her for a long time and then nodded. “You are right. This has happened so quickly we both need time to think it through. I have to go to Washington for two weeks. When I return we will talk then.”

Morgan led her back to the buggy and lifted her up and placed her inside. When he pulled up to the house, Skyler had a heavy feeling around her heart. It would be terrible not to see him for two whole weeks.

When he walked her to the door he didn’t attempt to touch her. “I will see you in two weeks,” he said, before turning away.

She watched the buggy pull away in complete confusion. Her whole world had come crashing down on her. Skyler wished with all her heart that she had her wise mother or grandmother to talk to.

A feeling of loneliness surrounded her heart, but this time it wasn’t for her home in Blackfoot country that she yearned. She missed Morgan and knew the two weeks he would be away would crawl by.

As she ascended the stairs to her room, tears flooded her eyes. What was she going to do? She couldn’t tell Morgan about her background. What did the future hold for her and the man she now knew she loved?

Wolfrunner raised his head into the wind and caught the scent of meat cooking in the distance. Scanning the horizon, he saw the smoke from a campfire rising into the sky in the valley just below. He dismounted and examined the ground with an expert eye. There was evidence that two unshod ponies had passed this way. With his tracking ability, Wolfrunner could easily tell that one of the horses was carrying double. He had picked up a faint trail three days back, and each day the trail had become easier to follow. As of yet, he didn’t know if he was following a false lead, or even who he was after. He only knew he must find Danielle.

Wolfrunner had begun to feel pity in his heart for the young maiden who must be frightened at this moment. Many times he almost turned back to the village. But the thoughts of Danielle kept pushing him onward at a punishing pace. Each night he would fall on his blanket in an exhausted sleep. He remembered Danielle’s gentle beauty. She was neither as strong as Sky Dancer nor would she be able to endure the cruel ways of the wilderness country for very long.

Mounting his horse, Wolfrunner decided to watch the camp from a distance until nightfall. Then he would venture closer to find out who he was following. Perhaps it would prove not to be Danielle. If it wasn’t her then he had wasted valuable time chasing a false trail.

Danielle tested her mouth with her finger and found it to be swollen and bleeding. She had incurred Scar Face’s anger again tonight when she had refused to eat the raw fish he offered her. In the end she had been compelled to eat the fish because she had no choice. She could still smell the fish
on her breath, and it made her stomach heave. Danielle swallowed the bitter taste of bile that rose in her throat. She had to concentrate on something else or she would be sick.

Danielle was so tired but couldn’t seem to fall asleep. The horses were hobbled nearby and she heard them acting up. Apparently Tall Bear had heard it also, because he got up, and moved off into the shadows to check on the animals. Scar Face became alert and unsheathed his knife, waiting and watching for his friend to return.

Hope fanned to life within Danielle only to be dashed into bitter disappointment moments later. She had hoped that it might have been her uncle coming to rescue her who had disturbed the horses, but Tall Bear soon returned and lay down beside his companion.

As her hopes died, she closed her eyes, wishing for the sleep of forgetfulness—but in that she wasn’t successful, for sleep eluded her.

Moments later the horses began stomping the ground and pulling at their ropes nervously. This time Tall Bear mumbled to himself as he got up and left his bed for a second time. Scar Face paid little heed to his friend now, but merely grunted and rolled up in his blanket, drifting back to sleep.

Danielle waited for what seemed hours, and when Tall Bear didn’t come back, she became puzzled. The shadow of a man fell across the dying embers of the campfire, and at first Danielle thought it was Tall Bear returning. Her eyes moved over the man, and she wondered why he was acting so strangely. He didn’t lie down beside Scar Face, but kept in the shadows, edging his way toward Danielle.

Soon he moved out of view and moments later she felt a knife slice through the ropes that bound her hands. Turning around quickly, she saw nothing more than a fleeting shadow. If it was Tall Bear, why had he cut her loose, she wondered, scrambling to her feet.

Danielle could feel her pulse drumming in her head. Moving back against the trunk of a tree, she forgot that the rope that was about her neck was also tied to Scar Face’s
arm. The rope pulled her up short, and Scar Face roused up and stared into the darkness. Suddenly he became alert and jumped to his feet. Mumbling something Danielle couldn’t understand he jerked her forward and she landed at his feet.

Danielle watched as Scar Face unsheathed his knife, while his eyes scanned the darkness. He knew he was an open target since he was standing in the light of the campfire, so he pulled Danielle to her feet, and half dragged her toward the woods. She fell several times, and he jerked her up, muttering something unintelligible.

Danielle knew that Scar Face mustn’t reach the horses, because the man who had sliced through her bonds must have come to rescue her. Throwing her weight against Scar Face, she caught him by surprise. He fell to the ground, dragging her down with him.

Out of nowhere, the shadow of a man appeared. Before Scar Face knew what was happening, he was hauled to his feet with a knife at his throat.

“I am not surprised to find you, Scar Face,” Wolfrunner hissed in his ear. “I will take pleasure in ending your life and ridding the world of a plague.”

Scar Face felt great fear as he recognized the voice of his old enemy. He knew he must act fast or Wolfrunner would do just as he threatened. He was maddened with fear. He could see his life being ended here in the wilderness. All he could think of was preserving himself. With a strength which came from that fear, he jabbed an elbow into Wolfrunner’s stomach. Acting quickly while Wolfrunner was doubled over in pain, he cut the rope that bound him and Danielle together. Moving rapidly into the shadows, he fled into the night.

Danielle lay in a daze of pain. She couldn’t yet see who her rescuer was, nor did she know if she had been rescued, or if she had simply become another Indian’s prisoner. Rolling to her knees, she tried to clear her mind. She didn’t know whether to run or just stay where she was. Suppose this Indian was one of her uncle’s warriors? But he was alone—surely
if this man was a Blood Blackfoot, her uncle would be with him. She’d heard his voice when he’d spoken to Scar Face, but since he hadn’t spoken in English, she hadn’t recognized him as anyone she knew.

Hearing the sound of horses’ hooves, Danielle knew that Scar Face had ridden away. Realizing that she had no time to waste if she was going to gain her freedom, Danielle jumped to her feet and ran into the woods. This was her bid for freedom. She had to get away from the Indian who had frightened Scar Face away.

Bushes reached out and tore at her clothing and her skin. It was so dark she stumbled over something and fell. A scream issued from her lips as she groped in the darkness and discovered a dead body and knew it must be Tall Bear. Her desperation came as much from her fear as from the need to be free and she staggered to her feet, pushing onward. She feared that if the unknown assailant were to catch her, she would meet with the same fate as Tall Bear.

She had hardly gone any distance when the man reached out and captured her from behind, swinging her up into his arms. Wild unleashed fear tugged at her heart. She struggled and kicked out at the man, but he twisted her around and held her firmly against his body so she couldn’t move.

“You have nothing to fear from me. I am not your captor. I have come to take you back to your aunt and uncle, Danielle.”

Danielle’s struggling suddenly ceased, and for the first time in days she felt safe. She trembled as a feeling well-being washed over her. She recognized Wolfrunner’s voice and knew she had been saved! Resting her head against his shoulder, she allowed tears to wash freely down her face. For a long moment Wolfrunner held her, gently stroking her tangled hair, comforting her without saying a word.

When she stopped crying, he set her on her feet, and she sank to her knees. “How can I thank you for saving me?”

“You are not safe yet, Danielle. We must not stay here. Scar Face could return at any time. Are you well enough to travel?”

“Yes, let’s leave this place at once!” she cried, looking back over her shoulder. “Where is my uncle?”

“He is looking for you.”

“Are there others with you?”

“No. I am alone.”

Danielle allowed him to lead her forward. She was so overcome with relief, she couldn’t think past being free. She was like a child who had no will of her own and was allowing Wolfrunner to lead her where he would. She knew she was dependent on him for her very life: in fact she owed this man her life.

When they reached the clearing where Wolfrunner had tied his horse, he muttered under his breath. “It seems I underestimated Scar Face—he has taken my horse. The fight is not yet ended.”

Danielle’s senses were too dulled to hear what Wolfrunner was saying. She was so tired and emotionally drained that all she wanted to do was lie down and rest.

Wolfrunner knew that they were vulnerable, and he must find shelter to hide Danielle for the night. When she stumbled and fell to her knees, he picked her up and carried her. Closing her eyes, she rested her head against his shoulder. In no time at all she had fallen asleep, wrapped in a warm blanket of safety.

As Wolfrunner came out of the woods and into the moonlight, he looked down at the girl he carried in his arms. There was no evidence of her former beauty. Her lips were swollen and her face bruised and dirty. He didn’t imagine that Scar Face and his companion had left her untouched. He felt pity in his heart for the poor pathetic girl who was more white than Indian. He doubted she would ever again be the same proud beauty she had once been.

After walking for a long while, he found a safe place against the face of the cliff. It had two boulders on either side and would be easy to protect. Here they would rest for the remainder of the night.

Placing Danielle down on the soft grass, he sat down beside
her, with his senses alert to any danger. He knew that Scar Face would be following them. Now the hunter had become the hunted. Wolfrunner knew if he had been alone he could easily outsmart Scar Face, but the girl would slow him down, making his task of saving her much harder.

Danielle moaned in her sleep and Wolfrunner placed his hand on her face. That seemed to relax her and she curled up close to him.

He glanced down at her slight body and wondered how she had lasted as long as she had. Surely Scar Face had been overly cruel to her. He thought of Joanna and how happy she would be to have her niece back. Wolfrunner would do anything to make his chief’s wife smile. She was and always had been a ray of sunshine in his life. He didn’t love her as a man loves a woman, but rather as one would worship the brightness of sun without wanting to possess it.

His eyes watched the dark shadows, for he knew he must not fall asleep. This girl was his to take care of and he must protect her with his life, if need be.

He couldn’t help but think of the strange quirk of fate that had placed her in his hands. She thought she was so high above him, but now she would have to depend on him to survive.

He watched the rise and fall of her chest and couldn’t help noticing that her creamy white breasts were poking through her torn blouse. Feeling a stirring in his loins, he turned quickly away. He didn’t want to desire this girl. He didn’t even like her.