Yellowstone Heart Song (Yellowstone Romance Series Book 1) (6 page)

“Good night,” she called when she returned, and waited by the door for a response. None came, and she reluctantly entered the dark cabin and shut the door. She would have much rather sat outside by the fire for a while, but something told her Daniel would not appreciate her company. She had to remind herself that he wasn’t used to being around people, and especially not women. What a challenge the solitude would be for her.

Zach had told her to stay at the cabin, that Daniel would help her.  What if Zach had misjudged his son, and Daniel would send her away once her foot healed? His demeanor toward her made it quite obvious he didn’t want her here. How would she get back to her own time if he sent her packing, and Zach couldn’t find her when he returned? And how much would Daniel press her for the truth on how she got here? Not that he would believe the truth any more than the stupid lies she had told him so far.

Yeah, you see, your father never told you this, but he travels through time and I met him in the twenty-first century. There’s a lot you don’t know, but it’s not my place to tell you.

Aimee sank down onto her bunk. For the first time in almost a week, a complete sense of security enveloped her. She sighed and snuggled into the pile of soft furs, pulling several over her head. At least tonight she would sleep warm and comfortably.

****

Aimee woke the next morning, more rested than she had been since the beginning of this “trip.”  Her head didn’t spin as it had the last couple of days, and black spots didn’t swirl in front of her eyes when she sat up. Her ankle was definitely not throbbing anymore unless she moved it suddenly. The bandage had loosened up as well, a good indication that the swelling was going down.

Sunlight filtered in through some burlap nailed to the wall, which covered the cabin’s only window opening. What time was it? She stood, and noticed a tin plate on the table filled with fresh wild strawberries, some pine nuts, and pieces of dried meat. Her stomach grumbled loudly. All she’d eaten the day before was dried jerky. Next to the plate was a tin cup with coffee, although it was cold.

Daniel’s thoughtfulness surprised her yet again. She pulled her hiking pants on, picked up her crutch, and opened the cabin door, squinting against the bright sunlight. She stepped outside and went behind the cabin into the trees. She scanned the valley and surrounding hills for any sign of Daniel. After a few minutes, she gave up. He was nowhere to be seen. She left the cabin door open to allow more light to enter the room, and picked up the tin cup to savor her first sip of coffee in a week.

“Yuck!” Her face contorted in a grimace. She forced the bitter brew down her throat with a shudder. “I wonder if he’s got any sugar around here.”

Aimee ran her brush through her hair, and dabbed some Neosporin on her cuts, then left the cabin and hobbled in the direction of the river. She had been here many times before, but the experience was so different now with no one else around. The early morning air stung her lungs with each breath she inhaled. Enthralled, she watched the steam rise from the waters of the Firehole River as it came rushing out of the mountain and merged with the Gibbon to form the Madison. Across the river, several cow elk grazed the succulent grasses just in front of the tree line. The geothermal heat that radiated from the ground met the cold air above, which gave the scene an eerily primordial feel as the entire meadow was covered in a layer of thick fog.

Several hours passed, and Daniel still hadn’t appeared. Where had he gone off to? It was really none of her business. She was here uninvited, after all. Well, at least not invited by him.

With nothing to do after her walk by the river, she perused the objects in the cabin more closely. Several burlap sacks were stashed in a corner. Upon closer inspection, and to her delight, they contained flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and even several types of root vegetables. Another sack was filled with what she guessed to be gunpowder. On one of the shelves she found a crock full of some sort of animal fat or lard, and some dried strips of meat hung from a crude wooden rack.

An idea took hold in her mind. She scooped a small amount of flour into a wooden bowl, then added water and several leftover berries from her breakfast. She covered the bowl with a piece of burlap, and set it on the hearth by the fireplace.

“Hopefully, we’ll have some nice sourdough starter in a couple of days, and I can bake some bread,” she said with a satisfied smile.

Figuring she could put the backcountry cooking course she had taken a year ago to some good use now, Aimee wondered if Daniel would appreciate a warm meal when he returned. She cut some meat and placed it in a bowl of water to soften. She peeled and diced some of the vegetables, and made a fry bread batter with flour and cornmeal. Talking to herself was more comforting than the complete silence, and soon she was singing out loud.

****

Daniel had almost reached his cabin, several rabbits slung over his shoulder, when an unfamiliar odor lingered in the air. It was definitely food, and it made his mouth water. “What the hell?” The smell came from the direction of his cabin. Despite being worn out from lack of sleep, he increased his pace.

Last night he had sat by the fire, unable to sleep for the second night in a row. He had been acutely aware when Aimee came out of the cabin. What was he going to do with her? He had no choice but to protect her from the harshness of this land and its countless dangers. Somehow he had to figure out how to get her back to civilization.

For the better part of the day, he’d wandered the valley to check his traps, and scouted along creeks and tributaries of the Madison for beaver habitat that would make good trapping sites for later this fall. When his father returned from St. Louis in a few months, they could start setting traps for winter beavers. No matter how hard he tried to concentrate on his task, his thoughts kept drifting to the woman he had left behind at his cabin.

He had gone inside quietly at dawn with some food and coffee, and stared longingly at her sleeping form on his bed. He remembered all too well the previous night, how her soft woman’s body had molded itself to his side. Would she be as welcoming now if he slipped into bed next to her? Aroused and frustrated, Daniel had left the cabin quickly.

The most bothersome thing was that, regardless of her lies and fair skin, he wanted her. Had some French trapper found her, she would have most likely been violated many times over by now.  Daniel cursed out loud at the thought. No one would lay a hand on her while she lived in his cabin. The only problem was that he didn’t know how long he would be able to keep his own hands off her.

He loped easily up the rise that led to the small valley, and his cabin came into view. Smoke rose from the chimney, and the door stood wide open. From inside, a woman’s voice was . . . singing. He’d never heard this kind of singing before.

“She is mad,” Daniel sneered, and shook his head. Who in their right mind made this much noise?
She’s going to attract the entire Blackfoot nation.

Chapter 5

Daniel stood in the doorframe of his cabin.  His eyes narrowed as he watched Aimee lean into the hearth and stir the contents of the iron kettle. Whatever she had cooking in that pot made his mouth water anew. The air outside and within the cabin was infused with delicious smells. Something inexplicable stirred within him as he stood there, silently observing her. His insides warmed. He’d never experienced coming home from a day in the woods to a prepared meal, much less a feminine presence.

Aimee removed the spoon from the pot. In a dramatic voice she announced, “Well, dinner’s ready!” She turned, and let out a startled shriek. Her hand that held the long wooden spoon shot up in front of her in an apparent act of self-defense. The quick move splattered liquid onto her clothes. Daniel was suddenly glad it was a spoon, not a knife, she clutched in her hand.

“Ohmigod! You almost gave me a heart attack!” She expelled a loud breath of air, and her hand grasped at her chest before she lowered her spoon.

“If I had been a Blackfoot warrior, that” – Daniel gestured at the spoon – “wouldn’t be much of a weapon.” He tried hard to suppress a grin.

“What, you’re actually joking with me? I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“It wasn’t meant in jest,” Daniel said dryly. The hint of a smile left his face. “You make so much noise, I heard you a mile away. Anyone could walk up on you undetected.”

“Oh.” Aimee lowered her eyes. “Well, um . . . I made dinner.” She seemed to stumble over her words. “I wasn’t sure when you’d be back, and I found food supplies in these sacks. I hope it was okay to use some of it.”

“I already smelled your cooking from outside.”

Her downcast eyes, and her subtle shift of weight from one foot to the other showed her sudden insecurity. Her quick action and recovery when she saw him in the doorway impressed him, even if her choice of weapon posed no real threat. He placed the rabbits he brought on the ground outside, propped his rifle next to the door, and removed his powder horn and traveling pouch.

Aimee turned, and reached for some wooden bowls and spoons from the shelf. “Are you gone all day a lot?” she asked.

“Most days,” he answered absently. He still stood in the doorway. His eyes devoured her, and his gaze roamed over her backside. He contemplated her odd clothing. His pulse quickened at the sight of her form fitting shirt and britches that hugged every inch of her womanly curves. Daniel clenched his jaw as he envisioned running his hands up and down the contours of her body, and burying his fingers in the long waves of her yellow hair that swayed seductively down her back with each of her movements. He had never seen a respectable white woman with loose hair before. He remembered the women in the east kept their hair tied up and covered at all times. Emma’s hair had always been hidden beneath one of those silly caps women preferred to wear.

Is she aware at all of how beautiful she is?

“What do you do all day?” Aimee asked conversationally, which put a stop to his wandering mind.

“I run traps and scout for beaver,” Daniel answered. She struggled with the heavy kettle that hung on the tripod over the fire.  Moving quickly around the table, he reached for it, and pulled it off the hook.

Their eyes met, and he held her gaze for a moment. His stomach tightened. He moved the kettle away from the heat, and backed away to sit at the table. Aimee ladled out a portion of stew into a bowl, and set it in front of him.

“You must be pretty hungry after being gone all day,” she said, and sat across from him. 

Daniel forked a piece of meat from his bowl, and tasted it. He followed it up with a tender piece of root. “This is good,” he commented between mouthfuls. She’d prepared the meat and roots differently than what he was used to, but it had a pleasing taste. He ate in silence, and the woman sitting across from him thankfully didn’t try to engage him in more talk. He was aware of her nervous glances in his direction, but he felt no need for discussion. He emptied his bowl, and refilled it again.

When he finished his meal, he thanked her for the food and left the cabin.

The early evening sun cast a golden glow around the mountain beyond the river. Daniel took the rabbits he caught earlier to the fire pit and began the task of skinning and eviscerating. Aimee emerged from the cabin. She’d stopped to watch him before continuing on to the banks of the Madison. In a hasty decision, he set the rabbits aside and caught up with her, his hands covered in blood. Wordlessly, he took the heavy wooden bucket she carried, and set it down at the water’s edge.

“You don’t have to do that,” Aimee said. “I’m quite capable of pulling my own weight.”

“I wasn’t pulling you, I was carrying the bucket. Your foot will heal faster if you don’t move around on it so much.”

He reached for the bowls, and she hesitantly said,  “Um . . . you should wash your hands first before you touch those bowls. I’d rather not catch salmonella or something next time I eat out of them.”

“There are no salmon in this river.” Daniel wondered what cleaning the bowls had to do with catching fish.

“Never mind.” Aimee shook her head.

He washed his hands in the water, then dipped the bowls under the surface, and let the current rinse them out.

“You don’t have to do that,” Aimee repeated.

He shrugged. “I’m accustomed to doing for myself.” Finished with the task, he dipped the bucket in the water to fill it, and then carried it back to the cabin.

He reached for the door, when movement between the trees beyond the cabin caught his eye. Daniel turned his head slowly, and stared into the forest. His hand inched toward the knife at his belt, and he stepped in front of the woman next to him. Seconds later, his hand relaxed on the knife handle. Elk Runner stepped from behind the trees. Daniel strode up to him, and the two clasped hands in a warm greeting. Ignoring the woman standing at his cabin door, he led his brother to the fire pit and offered him one of the rabbits.

Daniel wasted no time, and asked, “What have you learned?”

Elk Runner skewered the meat and turned it over the fire, taking his time with a response. “Her trail begins in the meadow near the bubbling mud,” he finally said. “It is as if she fell out of the sky.”

Daniel recalled Aimee’s words from the day before.
“I sort of dropped into the area.”
He shrugged it off as ridiculous.

“Someone must have concealed their tracks,” Daniel pondered.

“Does she say where she comes from?”

“She claims to be from a white man’s city in the east, and she is running away from the man she is promised to marry,” Daniel said. “But it is difficult enough for a woman to travel from the east to St. Louis, and impossible up the Missouri to this area.”

“But yet she is here,” Elk Runner remarked. “Your own mother must have made the same journey.”

Daniel shook his head even though Elk Runner had a point. “My father accompanied her,” he argued.

“There are ways to make someone tell the truth,” Elk Runner suggested after a moment’s pause.

“No,” Daniel said quickly. “She has her reasons, and I will wait for her to tell me the truth when she is ready.”

Elk Runner grinned. “If she is promised to another man, how long will you wait to see if he comes for her?”

“I have no intention of keeping her,” Daniel said in exasperation.

Elk Runner gave a hearty laugh.  “Your eyes betray you, White Wolf. As sure as the sun comes up every morning, you want this woman.”

Daniel ignored his brother’s remark. “If I have to, I’ll wait until my father returns, then I will take her back to St. Louis myself before the first snow.”

“You will not be able to stay out of her sleeping blankets that long,” Elk Runner predicted with confidence. “This woman has you bewitched. It is like I said before. Perhaps the spirits brought her to you because they know a man should not live without a woman.”

Daniel threw a stick in the fire, sending glowing embers into the air. Elk Runner tore a piece of meat from his skewer, and laughed.

****

Aimee stood by the cabin door. Daniel and his Indian friend seemed to be engaged in a heated discussion. They spoke in the Indian’s language, which made it impossible for her to understand. The man seemed quite amused by some things, and whatever made him laugh visibly aggravated Daniel. She’d clearly been dismissed when the Indian showed up. Daniel hadn’t given her a second look. Tearing her eyes away from the men, she headed into the cabin. She might as well call it a day. With a heavy sigh, she removed her pants, and crawled under the soft, warm furs. 

Aimee’s eyes focused on the dark ceiling above her as she lay on her back.  Her thoughts strayed to the man outside who was such an enigma, and the intense feelings he evoked disturbed her. She had only known him for two days, but her attraction to him had been instant. His intense stare had sent her pulse racing, and the memory caused delicious tingling feelings in her gut. The entire room seemed to have shrunk earlier from his large and imposing frame. The purely masculine scent of him had enveloped her senses. He smelled of the forest - pine and clean earth, mixed with the scent of buckskin and wood smoke.

Her heart sped up at the memory, and butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Jeez! She’d never been affected like this in the presence of a man. She didn’t recall ever having such exhilarating, electrifying feelings before. Brad had definitely never evoked such an intense reaction from her. That he’d been all wrong for her suddenly became crystal clear.

Brad Bigsby was a surgical resident, a city boy through and through, who wanted nothing to do with camping and the great outdoors. They had met shortly after she and her lifelong friend, Jana Evans, moved from New York to California after graduating nursing school together. He had pursued her relentlessly until she finally agreed to go out with him. His controlling ways hadn’t been immediately obvious.

After Brad’s marriage proposal three months ago, his overbearing attitude had gotten so bad, it bordered on abuse. Recalling their last heated argument a little over a week ago, she didn’t regret that she’d given back his ring and broken the engagement. He had told her in no uncertain terms that their relationship was not over. This unbelievable trip into the past seemed like her perfect temporary escape.

Now I just have to find the courage to truly stand up to him when I return home.

Her next relationship would definitely be with someone with whom she could share the splendors of nature. She would have to find someone who was more of an outdoorsman. Daniel’s face flashed before her eyes. If only someone like him existed in her time.