LeClerc 01 - Autumn Ecstasy (35 page)

“I shall return when my people are safe.” He moved his gaze from the baby to Linsey.

“Squirrel?” she asked quietly, holding the infant against her breasts.

Wolf shook his head. “He would be safe here with you, but I am selfish, my sister. I know I should leave him also, for the journey will be filled with its own horrors; but I have lost so much.” He turned his eyes to the child in Bear’s arms. His voice lowered to a whisper. “I need him with me.”

Bear hugged the toddler and set him on his feet. He turned to Wolf, his right hand reaching out. The two men clasped hands to forearms, their free hands to the other’s shoulder. The parting was not easy; they had been brothers for many years, sharing a past and memories of family and friends now gone.

“May Manitou guide you to a home for your people where they will again be happy. Your son shall be my son until you again return to this land. I will guard him with my life,” Bear said, his voice husky with emotion. “Go in peace, my brother.”

“My heart stays here in the lands of my birth, and I shall return when my people are safe.” His eyes darkened, his words spoken softly in Shawnee. “I am glad my brother, Bear Who Walks Alone, no longer walks alone. It fills my heart with joy that he has found a woman to share his days.”

Linsey clutched the baby tightly as Wolf took Chattering Squirrel’s hand and walked away. The tall man and the small boy spoke not a word as they left the clearing, nor did they turn as they walked out of sight. Linsey watched until they had disappeared, then moved slowly toward the cabin.

Tears made her vision swim, but she managed to keep them from flowing down her cheeks until she laid the baby on the massive bed and unwrapped the heavy blanket covering him. He was dressed in the shirt she had made and embroidered with her own hair. Around his neck hung a string of colorful beads, each carefully tied so that if one pulled free the others would not come off … made lovingly by a proud older sister he would never know.

Linsey sat on the edge of the bed and gathered the baby to her. With her cheek resting lightly on his soft hair, she cried for the friends she had found and lost so quickly. They had been Shawnee, as was the infant in her arms, members of a tribe of people she had considered savage only months earlier. But she had come to know and respect them, gladly calling them friend.

Hawk had been fed his evening bottle and now rested on the lap of the huge man. The baby clutched at the finger in his hand and fought to direct it to his mouth, with little success since Bear moved his hand away each time it was within reach of Hawk’s goal. With determination, the baby tried again and again to get the finger into his mouth.

Linsey finished cleaning up from their evening meal while she listened to Bear talk softly to the baby, first in Shawnee, then in French and finally in English.

“Is that the way you confused Chattering Squirrel, talking in three languages all in the same sentence?” She dried her hands and walked to the table.

“This little guy looks exactly like Squirrel at this age.” Bear looked up from the baby. “We need to talk.”

“I know.” It hadn’t dawned on her that the baby would be the answer to her problems until long after Wolf had left. With Hawk to tend, she realized that Bear could not take her back to Philadelphia.

“Hey!” Bear felt a warm, wet pull on his finger and looked down. The baby had finally managed to get it in his mouth and sucked contentedly, his eyes already growing heavy with sleep.

“Bedtime, little warrior,” Linsey said, dislodging Bear’s finger and picking the baby up from his lap. She carried him to the bed and laid him on his stomach. Hawk wiggled and squirmed, getting his legs beneath him. With his bottom in the air, he sighed contentedly and drifted into sleep.

Bear stood in the doorway staring into the night. A full moon lit the dark, casting freckled shadows through the trees. A night bird called and was answered by its mate while a light breeze ruffled through the leaves, its coolness a reminder that winter was not far behind them.

Finally, Linsey could no longer put off going to him. She had won the fight to stay, but she did not think Bear would be any happier about it than he had been about her going.

“Look about you,
mon ange.
What do you see?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Trees, a wilderness where there is no one to depend on but yourself. In the wilderness a man and his woman become as one person. Each does his own job and sometimes his mate’s job as well. They must share — their lives, their work, their minds — just to survive.

“Are you such a woman, my lovely Linsey?” He turned, framing her face with his hands. “Can you truly give up all that waits for you in Philadelphia for this small cabin in my wilderness where every day could be your last? Can you bear your child with none to see to its birthing but me? Can you bravely watch me walk out the door never knowing if I’ll return? Are you strong enough to watch your child die from an accident or disease that would not have happened in the city?” In the darkness, her eyes burned with green fire. “You are my woman; you carry my child beneath your heart. I can not promise you safety, security or even protection, but I will love you with a passion never before known by any other. I will have none but you as my wife, and for the rest of the days of my life I will cherish you.”

Linsey reached up and cupped his cheek. How long ago it seemed since she had been so frightened by his appearance.

“I will be the woman you need me to be, Luc LeClerc. You will never know my fears until the time to fear is done. I will gladly bear every child you give me with none but you to guide it safely into the world. I will share my laughter and tears with you, for without you my life would be truly empty.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. “When problems arise, we will solve them. Together we can do anything! Just never send me away, Bear. Let me spend my life beside you, through good and bad.”

Bear wrapped his arms around her as he leaned back against the door frame. For the first time in his life, he was frightened by the unknown future.

“We take such a big chance, Autumn Fire.”

“How boring life would be if everything was a certainty.” She looked up to the stars twinkling so far overhead, then back to him. “As long as we have love, we can survive anything else the world throws at us.”

“We have love. More than any others have ever known.”

Bear leaned over, and their Ups met in a kiss of sweet promise. He felt a weight lift from his shoulders, knowing he would not have to take her back to the city. Somehow, in some way, he would protect her from all harm, for if he lost her, he would surely lose himself.

“I could never have taken you back,” he whispered.

“I would never have stayed.” Her eyes twinkled brightly. “I would have followed behind you or found my way back here alone.”

Long minutes of silence passed as they held each other closely. It was a comforting silence as they searched beyond the stars for their tomorrow.

“Will you be able to care for two babes at the same time?” Bear asked, finally breaking the quiet.

“Two?”

“Hawk will only be a few months old when our son is born.”

“You are so positive this baby will be a boy!” Linsey responded with a smile. “What are you going to do if ‘he” is a ‘she’?”

“The Grandmother said it is a boy.” Bear’s dark eyes sparkled, and a leer crossed his face. “But if she is wrong, then we’ll just have to keep having them until we get a boy.”

A troubled thought crossed her mind. “Will a girl disappoint you so very badly?”

“
Non, mon ange.
A daughter who looks just like her mother will bring me the greatest joy. But I must have a son, my love,” he whispered as his mouth lowered to hers. “I greatly fear with two like you I’d never stand a chance of winning an argument!” His breath teased against her lips; his eyes burned with a fever of growing passion.

“Do you think we’ll argue?” Linsey asked as she moved her body slowly against his.

Bear threw back his head with a shout of laughter that disturbed the sleeping baby. He picked her up and carried her to the bed. With disgust he looked at the infant who wiggled and squirmed at the noise.

“Tomorrow I make a cradle!”

“Tonight?” Linsey asked, biting softly at the pulse throbbing in his heavily corded neck.

“Tonight …” Bear laid her gently on the edge of the bed. “Tonight we are very careful.”

The noise that had interrupted his sleep had quieted to velvet whispers. Hawk closed his tiny eyes and drifted back to sleep, soothed by the gentle rocking of the bed beneath him.

EPILOGUE

Linsey looked out the opened door and watched the wind flutter through the colorful leaves. Mother Nature was again showing her power by painting the landscapes in glorious shades only she could create. The days were still comfortably warm, but as the sun left the sky, the temperature lowered until the night air was nippy.

Linsey found it difficult to believe that nearly a year had passed since she’d been kidnapped by Jeb and Zeke. At times her life in Philadelphia took on a dreamlike quality. She was content in her wilderness home, missing few of the luxuries she had been accustomed to having. The one item she hated doing without had arrived unexpectedly a week earlier.

Before summer had arrived, Kaleb had decided to travel to Philadelphia. He said it was because he’d never seen the city, but Linsey knew it was for her. Carrying messages to Linsey’s lawyers and friends, he had taken care of necessary business for her and while there, at Bear’s request, had ordered a bathtub. It had taken weeks for the tub to be shipped downriver, and Linsey was startled speechless when it arrived at the cabin. Bear had been startled speechless by her display of gratitude.

There were now three cabins in the area, separated by the trees so that each afforded privacy for its occupants. Kaleb had returned from his mysterious journey a few days after the Shawnee had left. Following behind him were Josh and Sarah Willowby, their five children and numerous goats. In an incredibly short space of time, the three men had put up a two-room cabin, Sarah and Linsey had become friends and the children had made new trails with their numerous trips between cabins.

While Kaleb was gone to Philadelphia, Bear and Josh put up a small cabin for the old man, who was delighted by it at his return. Next summer Bear planned to add to their cabin and put down a floor. Linsey had convinced him that she could live with the dirt floor the rest of her life, if necessary. There were so many things that needed to be done, and flooring the cabin came far down on the list.

They now had neighbors in their wilderness, and Bear seemed more relaxed at the idea of leaving Linsey alone when he had to be away overnight. She smiled to herself, wondering what he’d say when he came in and discovered she’d spent this day, alone, in preparation for their baby’s arrival.

A pain spread from the middle of her back to the center of her massively protruding stomach, causing it to harden like granite. Linsey grabbed a chair for support and held her breath until it passed. When she was able to move again, she lowered her ponderous body into a chair and looked down at the infant in the cradle.

Nearly five months of age, Hawk had just discovered his feet and was most content when chewing on his toes.

Unaware of the drama unfolding around him, he babbled happily to himself, squealing with delight when he managed to catch his elusive foot and carry it to his mouth.

“Oh, that was a good one,” Linsey said to the infant, her voice breathless. “By this time tomorrow, he should be here.” Her hand rested protectively on the swell of her stomach, and she looked longingly toward the empty cradle sitting across the room. Bear had made Hawk’s cradle, but Kaleb had made the one for their baby. He had carried it into the cabin one evening before dinner. He’d worn a shy look on his puddled face when he’d presented it to Linsey, saying the grandfather should always be the one to make the cradle not the father.

Another pain, starting slowly in her back, forced Linsey to remain in the chair. When it passed, she stood and continued with her preparations. Bear would soon be home for the evening meal, and as was his custom, Kaleb would come with him. The meal was ready and waiting, but she had a feeling it might be eaten a little later than normal.

Bear was delighted that Sarah lived near them. He felt that having given birth to five children, Sarah was an expert. Little did he know that Linsey intended for no one to deliver her child but him. Kaleb would be the likely person sent to fetch Sarah, and Linsey had already spoken to him, asking him not to get her. This was a time she wanted to share only with Bear. When it was over, Sarah could be called, but not before.

Another pain was easing when she heard their voices outside.

“Think we’ll get that crop in before we get a killing frost?” Bear asked.

“Jist don’t know,” Kaleb replied. “Hit might be close. Signs point to a early winter this year. Been wrong afore, but I’m right more’n I’m wrong.”

“We’ll just have to keep an eye on it. Let it ripen as long as we can.”

They entered the cabin, and Kaleb’s keen eyes immediately detected Linsey’s discomfort. His gaze searched hers, then a wicked grin split his face.