'What?' Sage fired like he knew she would.
He was trying to have a conversation about something she said, and she looked like he'd slapped her. How could he explain how much he hated the word
He wouldn't explain it to her. It was a world she'd never seen and probably couldn't understand. He grew up in places where love was a commodity to be bought and sold but never given.
So he did the only thing he could think of, he fired back. 'Are you getting hard of hearing in your old age? I said I don't want to hear you say those words to me. It seems a simple enough request.”
She kicked her horse, pulling away from him. 'Older, you mean, and I don't take orders. But don't worry, you'll never hear them again. I must have gone mad for a moment to even have thought of saying them in the first place”
'Fine” he yelled back, letting her ride ahead.
He glanced back to see if the boys had heard anything he and Sage had talked about, but both Will and Andy looked like they were half asleep in their saddles.
When he turned to watch Sage, he heard Will whisper, 'He was probably kicked in the head by a milk cow when he was a kid”
Andy answered, 'That would explain it”
Drum rubbed his forehead. They were right. He'd handled Sage all wrong. Why couldn't she just be his woman and for get about foolish things like love? From what he'd seen outside the outlaw camps, love was no more than a cheap trick men and women used to manipulate one another.
He spent the rest of the afternoon looking at her back, and when they reached the camp, she seemed to get even less friendly. Once she walked by him and stomped on his foot. While he fought down a few swear words, he heard Grandfather laugh.
The boys saw the camp as a grand adventure after they got over their fears. Within an hour, they were running with boys their own age, learning the language one word at a time, and examining everything they came across.
Sage talked with her grandfather. She spoke the Apache language so fast, Drum didn't even try to keep up. He took care of the horses, watched the boys play, and wished he were anywhere but here. She might feel right at home among her mother's people, but they'd never been very friendly to him.
The women were building the cook fires by the time Sage stepped away from her grandfather. She walked toward Drum but stopped before she got within stomping distance. 'We're welcome here. Grandfather says you can sleep down by the water. The boys can choose to sleep with me in an empty tent or with you outside.” She stared at him with cold eyes. 'They are welcome and protected either place, but you are not to enter the tent”
'I wasn't planning on it,' he lied. 'If the boys are safe, I plan to leave before dawn to hunt. The least I can do is bring game in for the meals.'
'All right” She turned to leave.
'Sage,' he stopped her with one word. 'I didn't mean to make you so mad back there. I just don't like those words.'
'I understand.” It was her turn to lie.
'Good,' he said, knowing she didn't. 'Can we go back to being like we were and forget about it?'
She didn't answer. She just walked away, and he had a feeling the answer was no.
For the next three days, they walked around one another. He hunted, brought in meat, and she visited with the women while she watched the boys. As always, she learned of cures they used and doctored those who would let her help. Each day more herbs dried on poles beside her tent.
The only ones enjoying themselves were Will and Andy. Will was a natural diplomat. His easygoing manner and willingness to accept others served him well. Andy's ready smile made him friends, even if he did have trouble with the language. By the fourth day, he'd given up trying and began teaching English to the Apache.
Each evening, Drum sat across from Sage, watching her in the firelight. Here, among her mother's people, he could see the trace of Apache in her. With her hair in braids, she looked just as beautiful as she had the day he met her when she'd been all dressed up like a proper lady.
She never said good night to him, but Will and Andy always went down to the water with him to wash up before turning in. Drum got in the habit of telling them stories from books he'd read, but he never let them stay too late. Sage might need some time alone, but he didn't want her to worry about them.
They'd been in camp more than a week before he finally found himself alone with her. He'd returned to his campsite by the water to find her washing out the boys' clothes. For a while he stood watching her, wishing he could touch her. He needed her near as dearly as he needed air, but he wasn't about to tell her.
Finally, he walked to the water and squatted down five feet from her. 'Talk to me, Sage. I miss you”
'I don't have anything to say and, if I did, I'd probably use the wrong words, and you'd bite my head off.'
'I didn't bite your head off.'
'Yes you did.' She kept working, beating the clothes as he was sure she would have liked to beat on him.
He moved a few more feet away for safety and changed the subject. 'God, how I've missed touching you. Sometimes at night I can almost feel your skin. You've got the softest skin in a few places. Like just under your breasts. I-'
'Stop it,' she snapped. 'You said you wouldn't speak of such things.'
'Me? You're the one who didn't keep your word. You forgot about my one rule.”
'I didn't forget. I decided you wouldn't be interested.' He frowned. 'Doing my thinking for me now. Doc?'
'Well, somebody needs to. You obviously don't waste time doing any.'
He took a step toward her and noticed the braves standing behind her at the tree line. Four men, all with arms folded. All watching. They might not hear or understand what he was saying, but he had no doubt that if he laid one hand on Sage, they had orders what to do.
Drum backed away. 'You know, Sage, lately, I'm starting to believe in reincarnation.”
She looked up at him as if he'd lost his mind.
'I figure I must have had an earlier life and done something terrible. That's why I've got to go through this life attracted to only one woman in the world and she determined to either kill me or drive me insane. No matter how I look at it, wanting you is terminal.”
She didn't look like she cared.
He fought down his irritation. 'But we made an agreement by your grandfather's time clock, and I've lived up to my half. You don't have to even talk to me, but I want you to meet me at the stand of oaks between here and the camp at dusk and live up to your word.'
She stood and walked away without even looking back.
So much for being forceful, he thought. She'd come or stay in the camp, whichever she liked. He had a feeling his demands had very little to do with it.
How could he tell her that he didn't want to own her, or boss her around, or control her? He just wanted to be with her as an equal. But part of Sage was still the princess of Whispering Mountain, and part of him was still the outlaw kid. Until she saw him as her man, nothing would really change between them, even if he did kiss her.
Drum stayed away from the camp most of the afternoon. If his mood got any blacker, it would block the sun. He rode in and tied Satan to one of the oaks just as the sun was touching the horizon. Turning, he watched the sunset, not allowing himself to stare at the camp to see if she was coming.
He didn't wait long before he heard her steps, but he didn't move until she touched his arm. He turned and kissed her with all the longing he'd felt for days.
She was cold in his arms for a few seconds, then she warmed little by little. She wasn't kissing him back, but she wasn't protesting. He kissed her as tenderly as he could, even though every muscle in his body wanted to crush her against him.
When she pulled away, he fought for a moment before letting her go. She didn't say a word. They turned and walked toward the campfire. They weren't touching, but he no longer felt the cold. As usual, they hadn't made peace, they'd only drawn a truce. It wasn't what either one of them wanted, but it would have to do.
As they ate, he said a few words to her, and she nodded. She passed him a slice of meat, and he thanked her.
