LeClerc 01 - Autumn Ecstasy (24 page)

“Where’s Jebby? Zeke’s been try in’ ta find him.” He lurched toward her, his feet dragging as if they were too heavy for him to move.

Linsey stopped. Zeke had gotten between her and the table. In order to get to the knife, she would have to get closer to him. Revulsion trembled through her.

“Jeb isn’t here right now, Zeke.” Her eyes moved to the open door. “He … ah, he went to gather some firewood. He said you should go help him.” If she could get him outside, she could bar the door.

“Firewood?” Zeke’s eyes brightened.

Linsey held her breath when his gaze moved to the fireplace and the stack of wood Bear always kept there so that she would not have to venture outside.

“He needs your help.” Her voice grew stronger with determination.

“Outside? Jebby’s outside?”

“Getting firewood. You had better go help; you remember how angry he can get when you don’t do what he’s told you to do.” It was an outright lie, since Linsey couldn’t remember ever seeing Jeb angry with his brother.

“Firewood… .” Zeke turned and stumbled toward the door.

Linsey grabbed the knife from the table and edged nearer to the door. Zeke had stopped just inside, searching for signs of his brother.

“Jebby?” he called loudly. “Where you at, Jebby?” “Just a little farther, just a little farther,” she mumbled to herself. Her heart thumping until it seemed in danger of leaving her chest, Linsey waited for him to get far enough so that she could slam the door closed.

“Girlie, Zeke don’t see Jebby.” Zeke turned to her, and the knife caught his attention.

Linsey saw the transformation from bewilderment to anger but could hardly believe how quickly it happened. One second he was asking about his brother in a whiny voice; the next he had moved and grabbed the arm holding the knife.

“Jebby ain’t here,” he snarled.

“He’s getting firewood, Zeke. He’ll be angry if you don’t go help him.” Linsey held desperately to the knife.

“Whatcha done to Jebby, girlie?” His free hand grabbed her shoulder and shook her until her hair fell down around her hips.

It did not seem possible that there could be so much strength left in his gaunt body as his grasp tightened on her wrist until her hand went numb and the knife dropped harmlessly to the floor. Linsey twisted, kicking out with her bare feet, but her blows caused her more pain than they did him. Zeke savagely twisted her arm behind her back, pulling her tightly against him.

“You’re lyin’! Where’s Jebby?” he snarled, his fetid breath making her gag.

He jerked on her arm, and Linsey screamed as pain traveled like wildfire from her elbow to her shoulder. Darkness swam before her eyes as he grabbed her hair and pulled her head back violently, threatening to snap her neck.

Without warning, a shrill war ery splintered through the room. Zeke abruptly released her and turned to face his new adversary as Linsey backed away. Before them stood the fierce warrior ready for battle, in one hand a feathered tomahawk, in the other a wicked knife, his face contorted almost beyond recognition. Linsey knew him as a loving father, tender husband, gentle friend. This was the thing of her nightmares. Terror held her captive, her fear of him greater than any she had ever felt for Zeke.

Wolf noted the look on her face as he quickly scanned her body for signs of injury, but his attention was solely for the man who dared to touch his brother’s woman.

“You die!” Wolf snarled.

Linsey watched the tomahawk descend. She heard the slashing of flesh, the crunch of bone. Zeke’s scream was abruptly stilled as the blood gushed freely to the floor. Like a boneless rag doll, he crumbled to the dirt, twitched once and then was still.

Linsey’s emerald gaze moved rapidly between Zeke and Wolf. Trembling hands covered her mouth as vomit burned the back of her tongue. The edge of the table cut into her bare thighs as she tried to back farther away.

“He is dead, Summer Eyes,” Wolf said quietly, confused by the horror still so evident on her face. “He can no longer hurt you.”

Thinking her fear was from the bloody body, Wolf grabbed a blanket and threw it over Zeke. Noticing the blood on his own chest, he walked to the tub of bathwater and used the rag to wash it away. He turned toward Linsey and saw that her skin was blue from the cold and she shivered violently. Taking a fur from the bed, he slowly approached her.

“Summer Eyes.” His voice was soft, soothing. “He is dead. He will never again touch you, my sister.”

His voice was familiar, he was again the man she had known only as a friend, but over and over she saw the fierce warrior. She knew, with the quickness of a breath, he could become that savage. This was a facade, a mask hiding his true nature.

Wolf approached her as if she were a wild creature, ready to spring away at any moment. She was shaking so hard her teeth were chattering, and he knew it was as much from terror as from the cold that filled the room.

Linsey demanded her body to move, to run, but her legs refused to do more than support her weight. With each step, Wolf moved closer until her mind became blank of all thought except for terror.

Wolf’s movements were slow as he approached her. Wrapping the fur around her trembling body, he pulled her into his arms. She was stiff and unyielding as he pushed her head against his bare chest.

“It is over, Summer Eyes. It is over,” he repeated softly. Pulling her hair from beneath the fur, his fingers threaded through the silken strands, startled by the softness so unlike his own coarse hair. When he felt her relax slightly, Wolf bent and picked her up. Carrying her to the bed, he detoured to the door, kicking it closed with his foot.

Sitting down, he held her on his lap. Starting to feel the cold himself, Wolf grabbed a blanket and threw it around his own shoulders, then wrapped his arms around Linsey, cradling her closely.

His voice was soothing, his touch gentle as he stroked her hair. With her face buried in his neck, Linsey could smell the clean fragrance of his skin and recognized the flowery scent of the soap. Her pounding heart slowly returned to normal, and her trembling ceased except for an occasional shudder. She repeatedly told herself that this was Wolf, the man Bear considered his brother. He would not harm her; in fact, he had saved her from the insanity of Zeke.

He held her very much as she had once seen him hold his young daughter, Spring Flower. She had been amazed at his tenderness with the child, seeming content to cradle her and willing to let her sleep in his arms. Until then Linsey had never given thought to the fact that an Indian father would love his children as much as any white father or that he would freely show that love. Now he was holding Linsey in the same way, and the thought of sleep was very inviting as a sudden exhaustion claimed her.

She closed her eyes, but the vision of Zeke was all too clear. With a shudder she opened them, happier to stare at the copper skin against her cheek.

“It is done, Summer Eyes,” Wolf whispered, feeling her shiver. There was no way he could wipe the memory from her mind, and he wondered if she would believe that sometimes he could still vividly see the face of the first man he had killed in battle.

The vision had haunted him until, feeling unmanly, he had spoken to his father. His father had calmly assured him that Wolf would be a better leader for remembering the faces of those he had killed in battle. With their faces as a reminder, Wolf would become a chief who never killed without reason, who would search first for peace not war.

“My feet are cold.” Linsey broke the silence that had settled around them, wiggling her bare toes. She felt and heard the chuckle that vibrated through his chest.

“The rest of you was freezing, and you did not know of it, Summer Eyes,” Wolf replied. His big hand covered her feet, and Linsey giggled as he tickled her arch.

“Ah, your feet will not suffer overmuch; they still feel!” He pulled a fur over them, tucking it in and rubbing to help warm them.

“Don’t you ever get cold?” Linsey suddenly remembered that twice he had entered the cabin bare chested while snow lay on the ground.

Wolf shifted her slightly, his hand resuming the soothing comfort of stroking her hair. “When one faces a battle, Summer Eyes, a coat gets in the way. It is better to suffer a little cold air on the skin and have the freedom to move than to be warm while you feel the blade of a knife slide between your ribs.”

Linsey nodded. “Bear once told me to forget modesty in a battle.” She sat up, a satisfied light entering her eyes. “I did! When Zeke came, I was in the tub, and I forgot all about it when I was trying to get the knife!”

Wolf smiled, his eyes sparkling. “You will become a worthy warrior, my sister. Most men would forget to fight if you came to them naked. You would have no trouble winning all your battles while your opponent stared at your beauty!”

Linsey blushed vividly and buried her burning face in his shoulder. Wolf chuckled, shaking his head over her strange modesty about nudity. To the Indian an unclothed body was natural, nothing to be concerned about. This was the first time that he realized it was something hidden by the whites.

As Linsey relaxed again, he thought of Morning Moon, who waited for him at home, her stomach growing with his child. He had chosen her for his wife among many maidens, and she gave him peace and contentment. He loved his wife and was happy that his brother would again know the love of a woman — this woman. Summer Eyes was his sister, the woman of his brother, and he would always honor her as such. But his respect and admiration were for her, for what she was and what she would become.

The terror and tension drifted away leaving her limp, eyes closed. She wandered in that nether world between being awake and asleep. Safe … in the arms of a fierce warrior.

Wolf heard the sound of the crunching snow shortly before Bear reached the door.

“Linsey, let me in!”

“Let yourself in, brother,” Wolf called. He felt the woman in his arms stir, and he soothed her back to sleep with the touch of his hand in her hair.

“What the hell!” Bear saw the covered mound in the middle of the room and Linsey on Wolf’s lap. He quickly surmised what had happened, and a savage expression equal to any Wolf could ever show crossed his face. He snarled deep in his chest and clenched his fists, the muscle in his jaw jumping fiercely.

“She is all right?” Bear tried to keep his voice low so that he wouldn’t wake Linsey.

“Now.”

“Did he hint her?” A world of meaning passed between them.

“No, my brother. She fought him, and I came in before he could do her harm.”

“I owe you.”

“She is the woman of my brother; she is my sister,” Wolf replied seriously. “I would do no less for her than you would do for me.”

Bear bent and picked up Zeke’s body. He was gone for a short time, returning just as Kaleb entered the cabin carrying a coat and fringed buckskin shirt.

“Looks like these might be yours,” Kaleb said, holding out the coat and shirt as he surveyed the room and found the pool of blood that had soaked into the dirt floor. “Guess we’re a might bit late.”

Wolf recognized the man who had shared Bear’s cabin the winter before. “You sound sorry, Kaleb. Were you looking for a fight?”

“Nope, just glad hits over. Is the little gal all right?”

At Wolf’s nod, Kaleb threw the coat and shirt on the table and sat down. Bear soon removed all signs of the fight from the cabin, his thoughts twisting and turning in his mind. He was relieved Wolf had arrived in time to prevent Zeke from hurting Linsey, but he almost wished Zeke back to life so that he could kill him. He watched Wolf caressing Linsey’s hair, and a tiny green monster rode his shoulder. Fighting back his feelings of jealousy, Bear reminded himself that Wolf was simply soothing her. The man had saved her life, and his holding her on his lap was totally innocent.

Trying to control himself, Bear walked to the bed. Wolf stood and handed his precious burden into willing arms.

At the movement, Linsey opened her eyes and saw the familiar face.

“Bear,” she whispered with a sigh, wrapping her arms around his neck until he was in danger of being choked to death.

The fur around her started to slip, and he quickly realized that she was nude. Trying to grab the fur, maintain his hold on her and loosen her death grip on his neck, Bear was unaware of the enjoyment of his friends.

The two men watched him, grins spreading across their faces as he was successful only at maintaining his hold and a length of slender, feminine back was exposed to their appreciating gazes.

“Come, my friend,” Wolf invited as he pulled on his shirt. “We will leave Summer Eyes in the care of my brother.”

“Er ya sure he can handle ‘er alone?” Kaleb asked solemnly as they watched Bear fighting with the fur that was following the pull of gravity.

Wolf shrugged and pulled on his coat. “There are times when each man must face the dangers of life alone.”

Chuckling, they left, closing the door behind them. Bear had not heard their teasing words and was barely conscious of their departure. He sat on the bed and slowly rocked Linsey, trying to comfort himself as much as her.

It was a torment he was not sure he could survive. He closed his eyes, his cheek against the softness of her hair. Losing her was a foe he had no weapons with which to fight and a battle he knew he could never win.