Ride The Wild Wind (Time Travel Historical Romance) (25 page)

Diego
let out a whoop, breaking into Hallie’s thoughts.  The
boys chased a feisty, cranked up Max toward her and Tani. The dog’s eyes bulged
and sparkled with mischief, his large ears flattened against his head.  He
panted harshly, his long tongue hanging from one side of his open mouth as he
ran in crazy circles. Lukachukai bent down and motioned for the dog to come to
him.

Max jerked if he’d been goosed by an unseen force, then dashed toward
Lukachukai, shooting straight between the boy’s legs.

Tani burst into giggles. “Is Max not the funniest dog!”

Lukachukai got down on all fours and began chasing Max again, setting
everyone off in a round of laughter.

“Is everyone having fun?” Antonio’s voice came from direction of the
trail.

Halle jerked. Tani, too. Rising to her feet, Halle swallowed hard at the
realization he might have overheard their conversation.  Quickly, she
flicked away a residual tear from the corner of her eye. Tani grabbed her basket,
then stood, staring down at her feet like a naughty child. Lukachukai slunk in
behind her
,
a wildly panting Max snug beneath his arm. A panicked
expression on his face, Diego lifted two heavy baskets and took off running
toward the village.

Antonio addressed Tani, but did not look directly at her
.
“Why
have you wandered from camp with the boys? You area fully aware of the
dangers.”

“I was not thinking,” Tani offered quietly.

“Perhaps I should punish you so in the future you will consider the
consequences of your behavior.”

“I am sorry.”

Antonio then turned to glare at Halle. “It is because of you that
my
cousin has done a foolish thing.”

Tani lifted her head. “No, it is my fault, Antonio. I knew of the
dangers but I did not realize we had traveled too far.”

“Take my son back to camp and leave me to speak with Halle.”

Tani cut her eyes at Halle, then back at Antonio. “Please do not be
angry with Halle.”

“Go now, Tani. You and I will speak later.”

Tani and Lukachukai ducked between them, Max wriggling in the
youngster’s arms.

Once they were out of earshot, Antonio lifted his gaze to Halle’s. Her
heart thundered in her chest when she looked into his eyes, but not because of
the fierce expression on his handsome face. This was the first time in weeks
they’d been alone together—physically closer than they’d been since their
arrival.  Every morning Antonio rode out before daylight and didn’t return
until long after dark. She only saw him in passing and even then, he never
spoke. Was it her imagination, or was he looking at her in that
special
way?

His hot gaze flicked over her, lingering at her breasts a moment before
lifting to her eyes again.  No. She hadn’t imagined his sexual interest.
She perused him openly as well. He wore a new leather vest, open with no shirt
beneath. The buttery colored buckskins that molded to his strong, muscular
thighs appeared to be new, too.

  His skin, glossed with a fine sheen of perspiration was also
darker, as was hers—at least what had been exposed to the harsh sun over the
past weeks.  She noted a long, unusual abrasion across the left side of
his abdomen. At second glance, it might have been a combination scrape and
bruise. He must have realized she’d seen it for he quickly shut the vest.

How weird
. What was he trying to hide?

Warmth crept into her cheeks as a twinge of arousal caught her unaware.
She inhaled sharply and swallowed hard, hoping he didn’t notice how his
presence affected her.   

He set his feet wide apart and crossed his muscular arms over his chest.
Oh, yeah. He was definitely trying to conceal the mark.

“Did Tani help you uncover all my dark secrets?”

Halle eased from her sitting position on the rock and stood. She didn’t
know whether to be pissed at him for eavesdropping, or throw her arms around
him and hug him for all he’d endured. “Tani is my best friend. I don’t need
your permission to talk to her.”

“I am not concerned that you
talk.
What angers me is that you
lured my cousin away from camp in order to extract information about me.”

“Oh yeah, right. As if I have the time to be
sooo
calculating
between grinding corn, sweeping the hogan, slaving over an open fire to cook
meals…washing clothes in the muddy river. Why I just have all the time in the
world, Antonio.”

“I overheard your conversation, everything from One Ear’s exceptional
endowments to your wild imaginings that I am bedding another woman!”

Halle gave an indignant cry. Oh, my God. How long had he been listening?
He must have been following them all this time!

“You were manipulating Tani.” He pointed a finger at her. “You guided
her into a conversation about my deceased wife and child.”

“I did no such thing! We spent the day gathering pine needles to patch
the roofs. If you don’t believe me, ask her
.
Can I help it if our
conversation turned in your direction?”

“With your help.”

“You blame me for being curious? You’ve told me nothing of yourself—your
past, who you really are, or even why you’re here with these people.”

“You already know why I am here.”

“I know what you told
me, but I there is more you’re withholding.
You’re not a full-blooded Navajo. You had family in California. Your
grandfather trained you to be a doctor.”

Halle watched his jaw clench at the mention of the word.

“There’s more,” she continued. “I know about your wife, too. I know what
the soldiers did to her and to the—” She swallowed hard, unable to say the word
baby
. The haunted look in Antonio’s eyes spoke for her, warning her not
to tread on painful ground. “I also know what they did to Lukachukai. You were
going to make him a prosthetic hand. That’s what your sketches are about.”

“You know nothing!” he thundered. “Don’t ever speak of my drawings
again!”

Taking her by the arm, he hustled her back toward the trail. “You should
never have left camp. There are dangers for young women who wander away.”

“I already told you I was only helping Tani and the boys with their
chores!”

“Tani knows this area is forbidden!”

“You really aren’t going to punish her
,
are you?”

“That is none of your concern.”

“She’s not a child, Antonio. She is a young woman.”

“She is a disobedient girl who suddenly has become argumentative. No
doubt her behavior is due to your poor influence.”

Halle shrugged free of his grip and whirled to face him. “Poor influence
my ass. I’ve been a good friend to your cousin—to all the children. There’s no
need to be angry with her or me. Neither Tani nor I were doing anything wrong.”

“You sorely test my patience, woman.”

“Yeah? Well here’s a news flash mister.
You
sorely test
my
patience!”

His pale eyes narrowed on her. “If you were my wife I would punish you
for your sassy tongue.”

Halle lifted her chin a notch for she damned well knew better. In this
matrilineal society, women owned the house and the children. A wife could put
her husband out the door on a whim and the marriage was over. Apparently, he
didn’t think she knew. “Well, I’m not
your wife and I never will be.”

He flinched, ever so slightly but she caught it.

“Yes. I heard you made the decision to marry One Ear.”

Her jaw dropped. Was everyone in on the great big wedding secret except
her?  Sadness flickered in his pale eyes and her heart squeezed in her
chest. Oh, God. He still cared. Despite everything they’d said to one another.
 That meant….

No.

Yes.

His gaze locked hers and she could almost swear she could see it in his
eyes:
I love you.

On the other hand, maybe she’d imagined it all. There was one way to
find out. She plastered on her best poker face, and played it for everything it
was worth. “Yeah, old One Ear has asked for me,” she replied coolly. “I guess
word gets around camp fast, huh?”

His dark stony face could have been etched in marble at that moment.
“Sonny said your adoptive parents are in a hurry to see you wed.”

Aha! So there
was
gossip going through camp. Probably the juicy
dirty kind. They thought she had been diddling old One Ear. People could be so
nasty.  She nibbled her lower lip as she pondered her situation,
concluding that one of three things had happened. Either her adoptive parents
accepted One-Ear’s proposal because they thought she might be pregnant, or
Sonny was running interference. That wasn’t a far flung idea considering his
sense of humor. Besides, she’d always known he wanted to see her and Antonio
married.

Or perhaps it was none of those. Maybe cool, suave
Antonio
was
playing her
,
trying to get at the root of her relationship with One Ear.
 

 
Had
he
started the rumor?

They stared at one another for an awkward moment. Only once did he
swallow, though his fierce, unwavering expression gave nothing away. Yep.
Something was definitely eating him alive. Jealousy? Or was it true—wedding
plans were actually in the works?”

“One Ear is one of the wealthier men I’ve been told,” Halle said,
carefully gauging his reaction. There was none. “He has a crap load of sheep,
too.” Still nothing.

Then she saw it. A tell-tale nerve in his jaw twitched.

“He has many children, too,” Antonio muttered through gritted teeth.

Aha! Anger. Now they were getting somewhere!  “I rather like
children,” she added as she watched a fine sheen of sweat bead across his
handsome brow. “In fact—” She hesitated before dropping the bomb. “I wouldn’t
mind if One Ear fathered a few of my own.”

He hauled her against him before she could say another word, his mouth
slamming across hers in a quick bruising kiss. Then he was pressing her back
against the rock wall, his hands claiming her, kneading her breasts through the
thick, woolen dress.

He tore his mouth from hers and seized her face with his hands. “So you
want children with One Ear, do you? Has the old man kissed you? Put his hands
beneath your dress? Pleasured you in all the ways I have?” His cheek rested
against hers “I swear that I will kill him if he has defiled you.”

Realizing she’d taken the joke too far, she was quick to respond, “He
hasn’t touched me. One Ear has been a gentleman the entire time.”

“What is it I must do to win your trust? Tell you everything of my
life?”

“I only wanted to know about...”

“My dead wife and daughter?” Bracing an arm on either side of her, he
stared into her eyes. Their faces were but inches apart. His warm breath fanned
her face. “My wife, Ooljee, was shot by soldiers first. According to
eyewitnesses, she was attempting to get the children to safety when they were
caught in the crossfire. When it was over, a Colonel Simmons ordered the
suffering ones put out of their misery. They bayoneted my baby daughter
Mariposa as she lay wounded, strapped helplessly to my wife’s back. Lukachukai
was beneath Ooljee’s body when the blade pierced them both. It sliced through
his tiny wrist, nearly severing his hand.” He pushed away from her and thrust
his hands through his hair. “I should have been there! I never should have gone
back to California!”

Halle stood speechless, blinking back scalding tears. Words were
inadequate to describe the emotion welling up within her chest. At that moment
she wanted to pull him into her arms, but he shook his head and mumbled
something as stared into space. She realized he wasn’t with her anymore but back
in that horrible time, reliving his own sorrow—his guilt.

“Infection set in and Lukachukai almost died. Sonny removed his hand to
save his life.”

 She took a tentative step toward him. “I’m…sorry.”

“If I had been there to properly clean and stitch the wound, the hand
might not have required amputation. True, he might have lost its use, but at
least he would be a whole person. He would have never suffered the agony of
septicemia, would not be the object of other children’s cruel teasing today. He
might have grown up a strong man.” His voice broke and he lifted tear-filled
eyes to hers. “Soldiers did that to my family, Halle. Men sworn to protect the
United States mauled innocent women and children for no reason other than they
claim a different culture.” He held his hands out in a pose of surrender. “Now
you know everything.”

So t
his
was the demon which haunted him—his inability to protect
his children from harm. His mouth pulled into a grim line, the expression in
his smoky eyes hollow, almost as if his soul had been ripped out. The pain she
saw reflected in his eyes was too much to bear. She was sorry to have pursued a
topic which caused him this much grief, but now she understood why Tani didn’t
want to tell her. It was unthinkable that anyone would hurt a child.

More than anything, she needed to comfort him. Halle moved against him,
slid her arms around his neck, and tugged his face closer. He resisted at
first, but she held him firm until their mouths were a hair’s breadth apart.
Pressing her lips to his, she poured everything she had in her into the kiss,
trying to heal his wounds. He sobbed into her mouth—then jerked his face away
and swore softly.

“Shhh, don’t.” She tried to soothe him by kissing his cheek feverishly
“It’s all right.”

Antonio uncinched the sash at her waist and her breath caught in her
throat as the blanket dress slowly opened at the sides. A scant breeze washed
over her heated skin and her nipples tightened in anticipation of his touch.

He pulled back and she saw his eyes glistened with tears. “I...need
you,” he rasped hoarsely. He hesitated several seconds, his lips hovering over
hers. “Tell me you need me, too.”