A Ransomed Heart (5 page)

Perched on the bed she
spotted a couple of leather ties on the door of the tent. Holding her skirts out of the mud she tiptoed over and tied them tightly closed, no one was coming in without her permission.  She made her way back and took one of the extra petticoats down and wiped off her feet.  The sun was setting and she could feel the exhaustion settle in.  With the other end of the large skirt she dried her hair as best as she could then haphazardly braided the red mass.  She didn’t really care; there wasn’t anyone out here to impress. Snuggling into the bedroll she pulled a few of the skirts over her and closed her eyes.  Maybe in the morning she would wake up from this nightmare.

Kit didn’t like to tell his friend he was wrong, but he didn’t approve of his behavior towards Ms. Casey.  When the guys had settled in their bed rolls he confronted Logan.

“What’s wrong?”

Logan glared at him.

“Come on, Logan, you have been upset since dinner. What did she say to you?”

Logan looked down at the fire replaying what she had said.  It was meaningless after
all.  They were both upset and she didn’t know anything about him, she was just lashing out. She had been right, he hadn’t done much honorable in her sight, but she didn’t know the whole story. His friend was waiting.

“She said I wasn’t honorable.”

Kit chuckled. “So you turned into a jerk?”

He nodded. “Y
eah, I guess so.”

The night bugs sang a song in the brush and both men watched the fire dance around the pit.

“You should say you are sorry.”

“What!”

“You know you were wrong to treat her that way, you should apologize.”

“She already
thinks I’m a louse, now you want her to think I’m weak?”

“Not weak
, Logan, just not heartless.”

Kit was right. Logan stood and dusted his pants off then walked over to the tent.  His friend didn’t watch and the
rest of the men were far enough away no one would hear him apologizing to a woman.  He took a deep breath and spoke softly, hoping she would be asleep and not respond.

“M
iss Casey?”

No answer. He cleared his throat and tried again, but only slightly louder.

“Miss Casey?”

She did
n’t answer so he turned to leave.

“Go away!”
she grumbled.

“Hey
, I just wanted to say…”

“Go
. Away!” she shouted, hoping he would get the point.

He took a deep breath and pushed forward even as the frustration crept up his throat.

“I’m sorry.”

Silence
.

“M
iss Casey, I’m sorry.”

More silence. He nodded his head at the darkness then went back to the fire and his bedroll.

Kit watched him sit down. “Well?”

“She told me to go away
,” he growled.

Kit laughed out loud and slapped his friend on the back, “
Rejected!” he said jovially.  “Sleep good, Logan.” Then he rolled over and pulled up the colorful Indian blanket and quickly dropped off to sleep. 

Logan laid his head on his saddle and closed his eyes.  He should feel more comfortable than he did.  The lady was in his
custody and now he just needed to wait.  Logan knew Robert Sevier and Logan knew he wouldn’t let such a beautiful young woman escape his wicked claws.  He picked her for a reason, and when Sevier sets his mind to something, he gets it no matter what the cost.  Logan’s shoulder ached at the memory and he rubbed it absentmindedly.  His thoughts wandered from Mr. Sevier to the girl a few feet away. Oh, how she irritated him.  The mere thought of her and her smug little face, her fire red hair and her blue eyes stirred something within him which was unexplainable.  He liked her fight and her willfulness, but she seemed like a wild animal he had managed to catch and if he wasn’t careful she was going to turn on him and consume him.  A trickle of excitement raced though his body, but he quickly pushed it away. She was someone else’s wild animal and all he needed to do now was return her.

Annabelle
listened for a long time until even the crickets were silent.  Although she was exhausted sleep was elusive.  She may have dozed off eventually if Logan hadn’t come over to the tent.  When she heard his voice she was prepared to spew the onslaught of angry words she had collected for him, but when he apologized she was speechless.  Even though she couldn’t see his face his voice sounded sincere and surprisingly believable. She wanted to be angry but she couldn’t be even though he had been so rough with her.

Even the
memory of him seeing her mostly undressed didn’t evoke anger anymore, instead she felt shy.  How would she face him in the morning? She had not been very nice herself and she should have returned the apology, but she hadn’t.  In a flash of defiance she thought he really should suffer for the night, after all he was far more wicked to her than she had been to him. Still she had been upset, but that was no reason to be unkind.  It was not in her nature to be short with people, but there was something about the man that irked her.  Frustrated she rolled over and faced the side of the tent. Maybe she would tell him she was sorry in the morning.  Or maybe she wouldn’t.

The floor was still moist, and in some spots even slippery, with mud but Annabelle didn’t care. The silk dress rustled as she slid out of bed, her feet tingling on the cold earth. Her fingers trembled as she undid the buttons on her bodice. Quietly she slipped out of the noisy dress and laid it quietly on the bed. She left her corset in place and slipped a remaining petticoat over the one she already had on. Later she could use it for protection against the heat or cold. She left everything else including her shoes and tiptoed over to the door.

The leather ties were still tied and she
peeked through one of the cracks and out into the night. The fire still crackled in the fire pit and she could make out the dark figures bundled on the ground. She couldn’t tell who was who, but she knew she wasn’t going to make it out the front of the tent without someone seeing her. Her only hope was to lift the back of the tent and slip out. She would circle way around the camp and then follow the river until she found some place safe. It might take her a couple of days, but eventually if she was careful, she would find someone to help her.

She nearly slipped as she made her way across to the back of the tent. She let out a little squeak and she clasped her hand over her mouth and listened to hear if she had woken anyone up. The
moments ticked on but no one stirred outside the tent. Her muscles ached from a day’s ride in the saddle and she eased herself down to the ground, her legs shaking and tired.  The back of the tent lifted easily and her petite size allowed her to slip effortlessly into the night. The night air was cool and gooseflesh prickled her arms. Her heart drummed in her ears so loudly she was certain the entire camp could hear her.

This time she didn’t stick around to see if anyone had witnessed her escape. She bolted away from camp
not looking back. Her bare feet pounded the cold earth urging her faster, but her heavy skirts weighed her down and she panted and slowed sooner than she wanted to. She was far too exhausted to be moving so quickly and her meager dinner didn’t help her energy level.  Finally she stopped altogether and leaned against a sandstone rock which had tumbled down from an unseen ridge. She would allow herself to rest a while then she would continue on her way.

Sliding down the rough rock she sat on the sweet grass that flourished by the riverside. Wyoming Territory was a brown
, dusty place, but where water was prevalent the grass and other foliage bloomed. She rested her head in her arms and closed her eyes. The night was silent and a half moon and a scattering of brilliant stars made it a perfect evening. Without even realizing it Annabelle started to drift off until she thought she heard something. She heard a few more twigs snap which made her jump to her feet and she pressed herself against the rock. Her mind raced; what would she defend herself with if it was a wild animal? It hadn’t occurred to her that she could be in just as much, or even more, danger away from her captors than with them.

Her body flooded with adrenalin
e for the second time that night and she decided her best course of action would be to flee from the situation. A stand of junipers stood out against the dark night sky about a hundred yards away and she wondered if she could make it to the top of a tree before something gobbled her up. With her mind made up she turned to run when a hand clamped around her arm locking her into place.

Annabelle screamed despite herself but it was cut short by a large, warm hand
which clamped down on her mouth. A second later, her back was pressed up against a man’s warm, naked torso. With both hands she tried to pry his hand away but it was no use. A familiar peppermint smell tickled her senses when he bent and whispered in her ear:

“Where are you going
, Bella?”His voice sounded amused as it murmured from behind her.

Annabelle growled and tried to kick him in the shins, but her bare feet didn’t do much against his jeans and leather boots.

“Trying to run away from us, huh?” he said, and this time a chuckle rumbled though his chest. She could feel it all the way through her own body.

Her face flushed and she was suddenly hot with anger. She tried to bite his hands but he whirled her around to face him
, his free hand now clamping down on her other wrist.

“Stop
, you cat,” he said, and he tried to wrestle with her. It didn’t take more than a second for him to pin her against his body, her arms behind her back and her nose pressed into his broad chest. He held her just tight enough that she gave a little whimper when she tried to move. And then she held very still. The hair on the top of her head tickled his nose and he could feel her warm breath feathering across his bare chest. She smelled amazing and her body was soft and perfect next to his. As if reading his mind she looked up at him with her cool blue eyes and glared.

“Let go of me
, Mr. Bailey.” Her voice was even but he could feel her breathing was strained.

“Why
, so you can get away again?” He chuckled again and smiled down at her. “I don’t think so.”

“I wasn’t trying to run away.”

“Oh, really? That’s what it looked like to me.” Her skin was clear and milky in the moonlight and he could see the smattering of freckles on her nose. She looked almost good enough to eat and Logan found himself less concerned with her escape attempt and more concerned about the feelings which were bubbling up inside of him. He ignored the warning bells that were ringing in his head and he lowered his face to her neck.

“Where were you going then?
” he whispered. Oh heavens, she smelled like strawberries and honey and his mouth watered involuntarily.

“I was…I was…” Her voice was breathy and her little hands slipped into his. His grip had loosened and their hands fell to the side entwined together.

It took all his willpower to not kiss the fragrant skin beneath her earlobe. “You were what?”

Her
little hands violently hit his chest breaking the spell, and she dashed past him. “I was running away from you!” she shouted as she dashed for the clump of trees. His mind reeled and he grimaced as her hand prints continued to sting on his bare skin.

“Oh
, you vixen,” he shouted and took off after her.             

Annabelle ran as fast as she could. She hiked her skirts up as high as she dared as she
leapt over clumps of sagebrush and skirted around piles of rock. If she could get to the tree she could climb up high enough he wouldn’t be able to get her down. She would stay there till she died of starvation if she had to. Her blood pounded in her veins; not only because of her mad dash across the desert, but because she could still feel Logan’s warm breath on her neck. She had never felt the way she did when he had been so close, but she knew it would be dangerous if she let him stay there any longer. She needed to get away from him as fast as she could.

Suddenly the wind was knocked out of her as Logan
slammed into her back. They both crashed to the ground. Annabelle thrashed around trying to get out from under him but he was much too big. It wasn’t until he hauled her out of the dirt that she saw how angry he was. His own blue eyes were on fire and she could see the firm line of his jaw.

“That’s how you want to play it
, then,” he growled and whirled her around, dragging her toward camp.

“I won’t go
,” she said, digging her heels into the earth.

“Oh
, yes you will.” With that he hefted her up onto his shoulder.

She opened her mouth to protest but
he smacked her squarely on the rear. When she tried again, he did it again. Two more times she tried to cry out for help and both times his hand made contact with her bottom. Finally she gave up with her rear stung so badly she wasn’t sure she would ever be able to sit down. When they got back to camp, Logan tried to go through the front flap of the tent but it was still tied shut. He swore under his breath and Annabelle was sure he was going rip the door open; instead he swung her off his shoulder and stuffed her under the bottom of the tent. He followed closely behind.