Whispering Hills of Love (American Wilderness Series Romance Book 3) (9 page)

It had been easy to deny her fears when there was no reason to confront them. But now, those same fears demanded recognition—acknowledgment that they were real. William was no longer only a hero she admired. No longer just the object of a simple girl’s infatuation. Now she wanted him. As a woman.

She felt momentary panic as her mind grasped the realization. But this time, she refused to give in to her anxiety. She forced herself to breathe deeply, to listen to her heart. After considering the thought of making love with him for a few moments, she was more thrilled than frightened at the prospect. She allowed her fear to surface only long enough to recognize the absurdity of it. She had nothing to fear from a man who cared for her! William was nothing like those men—he was far different—and joining with him was bound to be vastly different too.

She saw that clearly now and gave free rein to her feelings for him.

She resolved to never let her fear win again. Without a doubt, it would surface again, but she would never let it win again. She could get stronger now. And she would, by God. Starting tonight. She’d successfully pulled all the pieces together and the relief she felt was intense. She felt more like herself than she had in weeks.

Suddenly, she desperately wanted to get back to William so she could let him know what she finally understood. She wanted to tell him she was no longer afraid. She could now love someone. She hoped it could be him. But she still had serious doubts about whether he would ever consider marrying her. Maybe, just maybe, he would.

She clung to that thought with all her heart.

A deep feeling of peace settled over her as she decided to return to Boonesborough at dawn’s first light.

“What’s a pretty young woman like you doing awake in the middle of the night out here?” a man asked in a low buttery voice from behind her.

Kelly startled and hit her head against the boulder she leaned on. Alarm entwined with the emotions still smoldering inside her. Frightened, she grabbed for the pistol in her lap.

“Don’t wrap your little hand around that handle,” the voice said. “I have a gun pointed at your lovely blonde head of hair. Toss that weapon off to your right. The rifle too.”

His voice was chilling and dread rose in her chest.

“If you scream for that man over there, I’ll shoot him dead.”

“He’s not my man. He’s my father,” she replied in a voice made small by fright.

“Then you definitely wouldn’t want me to kill him, would you?”

Kelly almost had to think about that.

“Get your horse saddled and be quiet about it. You’re coming with me.”

“I shall not! I don’t even know who you are.”

“Very well, the name is Harpes. Now get saddled, and be quick or I might just decide to slit his throat,” he said, his calm voice little more than a whisper.

The man soundlessly moved near her father and yanked out his dagger with his free hand. The blade gleamed ominously in the moonlight. He smiled benignly, as if coaxing a hesitant child.

Reluctantly, Kelly stood and started saddling Ginger. Unsettled
by the stranger and Kelly’s unease, the mare pranced while she tried to attach the saddle leathers. As much for herself as her mare, Kelly whispered, “Whoa now girl, we’ll be all right. I promise.”

While Kelly saddled Ginger, Harpes gathered her father’s weapons and powder horn.

“I smell enough whiskey on him to keep him sleeping till noon tomorrow,” Harpes said.

She watched the man move about, catlike quiet, looking for anything of value in her father’s things. He was tall, muscular, and beardless. His strong profile, lit by moonlight, was somber and rigid and his black hair was straight and hung loose to his wide shoulders. Dressed simply, but richly, he gave the appearance of someone who demanded instant obedience.

Well, once they were safely away from her father, he would find her anything but obedient.

She shook her head in disbelief. Could this night get any worse? How could this be happening to her? If her father had acted more like William or Captain Sam, always cautious in the wild, he would have stayed alert and been ready for trouble. Instead, he’d been irresponsible and reckless, drinking himself into a stupor.

As a result, she was the one in danger.

And frightened. What did Harpes want with her? What would he do to her? A hard knot formed in her stomach and her heart beat erratically.

When he mounted his horse, she gathered Ginger’s reins in her hands and reluctantly leapt up onto the saddle. She had no choice. She wouldn’t let this man harm her father.

Kelly glanced back at her father, still dead to the world, as Ginger followed the tall man’s horse into the darkness.

CHAPTER 8

W
illiam, Sam, and Bear rode through town so early most people were still asleep. Within minutes, they passed through the moonlit Fort’s shadow and headed out of town on Boone’s Trace, a branch of the Wilderness Road. Through the dark still night, they could hear the Kentucky River flowing on their left. The normally soothing sound of the rushing water did little to calm William’s nerves. His mind spun with both hope and fear. Hope that Kelly would agree to return to Boonesborough with them. And fear that she wouldn’t.

Or that harm had already befallen her and her father.

Waves of affection swept through him in ways that alternately thrilled and frightened him. He needed to find Kelly and somehow convince her to come back to Boonesborough to marry him. He loved her. He wanted her to be his wife. As he’d lain awake last night unable to sleep, he’d finally understood that she was the first women he ever truly loved and now with a fierce resolve he wanted only her.

The thought of losing her, or never having the chance to show her that love, frightened him as nothing else ever had.

Kelly, stay safe until I reach you.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find the lass soon,” Bear said, almost as though he had read William’s thoughts.

“We’d better!” William called back. He muttered an oath beneath his breath, swearing that if Kelly’s father had hurt her, the man wouldn’t live to regret it.

Because he’d be dead.

“Stay alert,” Sam cautioned.

Now William worried in earnest. “I wish we had left last night.”

“As I said, she needed some time alone with her father. And if we had followed them last night, and McGuffin had laid a hand on Kelly, you would have been tempted to kill him. I know you, and you would not have let the man get away with hurting her. And if you slayed the girl’s father, that would end any chance you have with her. Better to wait until the light of day, when heads are clearer and cooler.”

“My head may be clearer, but it’s not cooler,” William said, his temper heating his words. “You’re right. I would kill him if I had too. Especially if he’s hurt her.”

“Did Boone say when he was leavin’ Boonesborough?” Bear asked.

“Today. He’ll probably be right behind us,” William answered.

“That might come in handy if we encounter Indians,” Bear said.

They rode as fast as they dared without wearing the horses out too soon. By sunrise, their mounts covered several miles and they were well south of the fort. Sam and Bear both started looking for the tracks of the two horses and finally Sam spotted Ginger’s print
in some moist earth.

They followed the tracks for some time and then to William’s surprise, they heard McGuffin galloping his mount toward them. Where was Kelly? Was she hurt? God, please no. A deep, unaccustomed fear gripped his heart.

Kelly’s father tugged up on his reins as he reached them, his brows drawn and his face twisted in an angry frown. “What did you do with my daughter, you son-of-a-bitch?” he shouted at William.

The man’s tone and blasphemous language infuriated William, but he would not release his anger. At least not yet. “Where’s Kelly?” he demanded.

“Tell me where she is,” McGuffin repeated, his eyes flashing disdain.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Sam barked. “She was with you!”

“She’s gone. I know you took her. She wouldn’t have taken off in the darkness by herself. Stop this pretense and tell me where she is!” McGuffin looked ready to kill. Bristling with anger, he sat there, tall in the saddle, his expression accusing.

“Mister McGuffin, we were on our way to try to convince Kelly to return with us,” William explained, using up what was left of his scant patience entirely. Worry tore at his insides.

“I don’t believe you. Where did you hide her?” McGuffin eyed him reprovingly.

“We don’t have her! But I do want to know where she is. We need to figure that out right now,” William barked, his breath burning hot in his throat.

“Where did ye last see the lass, man?” Bear asked McGuffin.

“We made camp a few miles back. I fell asleep soon afterwards. When I awoke this morning, she was gone, along with her mare and bag,” he sputtered, bristling with indignation.

William’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. He stared at McGuffin, trying to assess if the man was telling the truth. Had he done something to Kelly to punish her for leaving? Was he doing this to cover up? He wouldn’t put it past the miserable man.

“Were there any other tracks?” Sam asked, his voice taut and low.

“I don’t know. I didn’t look.”

That response sent Sam’s dander up. “That was nothing short of idiotic,” Sam declared. His brother’s face hardened with outrage.

McGuffin’s black eyes burned with fury as he glared back at Sam. “I was so sure you three took her, I just saddled my horse and took off coming this way,” McGuffin answered.

Bear stared at the man, his glower so hot William wouldn’t be surprised if McGuffin burst into flames. “Ach man, as ye can plainly see, we didna take her!”

McGuffin’s expression grew worried, as though he just now realized Kelly was actually missing.

William’s anger, escalating by the second, gave him little tolerance for the man or the situation. “This is getting us nowhere. How far down the road was your campsite?” he demanded.

“Fifteen minutes at a hard ride,” McGuffin answered.

“Then ride hard and take us back there. Now!” William ordered.

McGuffin turned his mount south again and took off at a run.
William, Sam, and Bear followed closely behind.

If she wasn’t with her father, where was she? Had she set out on her own? Although risky, he actually hoped that was the case. It was better than the alternative—that someone had taken her. Another thought twisted his gut with alarm. Had Indians taken her?

His heart hammered as thunderously as the horses’ hooves.

Kelly could barely hang on to the saddle she was so tired. Only mounting fear kept her relatively alert. “Who are you?” she demanded. “And what do you want with me?” She had asked these questions several times, but so far the man refused to answer her. His silence only added to her uneasiness.

Sometime during the night, they had crossed the Kentucky River at a low water crossing, and then Harpes headed northwest. She remembered that Sam had said that the road across the river heading north led to Lexington. Why was Harpes going there?

“I’ve already given you my name, but my family name is Robinson. And, young lady, I seek only to rescue you from that despicable man you called your father.”

“Rescue me?” Kelly asked in stunned disbelief. “I never asked to be rescued!”

“I realize that. But the circumstances made it abundantly clear you needed rescuing. The man is a brut and a drunk.”

“How do you know that?” She couldn’t deny the truth of his words.

“Because I was camped nearby and heard you yelling. I raced through the woods, thinking you needed help and overhead you
arguing with the nasty man.”

“That still doesn’t give you the right to take me against my will.” She was furious, but somewhat relieved. At least the man seemed to have honorable motives.

“Sometimes someone who is abused is unable to free themselves from their tormentor. I sensed that you would be that way.”

“You know nothing about me.”

“I know that your father said some exceptionally cruel things to you and seemed on the verge of violence. It was all I could do to remain hidden. But I knew he’d pass out soon. When he did, I went back to my camp and tried to sleep for a few hours. But I was so concerned for your safety, I couldn’t sleep and decided you needed help. That’s when I showed up at your camp.”

She gave him a hostile stare. “I demand that we turn back to Boonesborough.”

He just smiled back at her. “I think not. If we did, that horrible man would find you again and you’d become his slave. I despise fathers who use their children for nothing more than workhorses. You are too smart and too beautiful a young woman to be yoked to someone as disgusting as your father. What is your name?”

An unwelcome flush crept up her neck and cheeks. He thinks I’m beautiful. She was embarrassed at how much that pleased her. But he was the first man to ever say something like that to her.

“Kelly. Kelly McGuffin,” she finally answered. She was proud of her McGuffin name. Although her father definitely had problems because of alcohol, he had once been a good man and her mother told her that he came from an honorable and noble Scottish family.