Finally, when the tears had stopped, he whispered, ‘‘Talk to me, Allie. Tell me how I can help. Tell me that you believe I mean you no harm. Let me know what frightens you so.’’
Her fingers touched his lips, silencing his words.
He turned so that he could see her face as she raised above him.
‘‘Don’t-’’ She swallowed as if the words were stuck in her throat. ‘‘Don’t leave me.’’
He understood then. She’d do anything, let him do anything, but she didn’t want to be all alone again.
‘‘I won’t,’’ he promised.
TEN
FOLLOWING WES DOWN THE HALLWAY AND ONTOthe porch, Allie noticed Adam and Nichole waiting for them at the steps. Daniel brought the horses from the stables as the two couples stood silently watching the sun come up over an awakening town.
Allie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, knowing it would be a long time before she got the smell of Forth Worth from her lungs. She’d figured her life all out in this place. If she wanted to stay away from the kind of people who’d put her in a cage, she had to stay near Wes. For some unknown reason, he thought she had some value. By thinking so, he convinced folks around him.
What she couldn’t fathom was his strange behavior last night. He looked liked all the males she’d ever seen. He was taller than most, and thin in a lean, powerful kind of way. He seemed a normal man. But he didn’t act like the others.
An old Apache woman had told her about males and females of all tribes when Allie was no more than ten summers. She’d said that once Allie was old enough to breed, men would take her beneath their blankets. The old woman had been very plain, saying that the less Allie fought, the less she would get hurt.
But Allie hadn’t listened. She’d fought wildly every time, except last night. When Wes had told her to join him, she’d ventured closer without the fear that usually choked her throat. And she wasn’t at all sure why.
He’d still frightened her, but he hadn’t hurt her. She made up her mind that, the next time he lay with her, she’d try to understand what he wanted. For after last night, she knew it wasn’t her.
Most girls in the tribes were chosen as a wife to one man. But the old woman had explained that Allie was worthless, that she would have no man to call hers. She was also not of their people, so any trader who came could take her without offending anyone.
The old woman, who had been the chief’s mother, said those were the rules set for Allie and that Allie was to tell her when her time of womanhood had come. Until then, Allie would be fed if she worked hard. After that time arrived, she might be traded. The old woman seemed to think Allie might gain some value as she aged.
But Allie was small for her age and hid the fact that she was a woman for as long as she could. In what Allie thought to be her fourteenth winter, the tribe she lived with was raided.
For months, she’d already been planning for when a raid came, for raids were a part of her life. And she’d prepared, storing what she could in a cave nearby, searching for a path to run that would leave no sign, thinking about exactly what she’d do, depending on the time of day.
With the warmth of spring came the first raid. A sudden attack at dawn. Dog soldiers from the Comanches to the north swarmed down on their enemy, the Mescalaro Apache. With the thundering of horses, Allie was up and in action before she had time to think. As the first shots were fired, she slipped into her dark robes and rolled out the back of the old woman’s tent. Then, focusing totally on her destination, she ran without looking at the chaos around her. She didn’t stop when she heard the old woman cry out or when answering fire volleyed though the little canyon.
She made it to the cave and ran silently through the passages she’d learned by heart. Ten turns, ten choices. If she made any one wrong, she might never find her way out of the tunnels.
As the day passed, she heard men moving in the cave, yelling for one another. She hid on a ledge out of sight with a knife in her hand. But they never reached her hiding place. Finally, all was silent and she slept.
When she awoke, it was the afternoon of the next day. She was alone. The winter camp had been burned and scattered in the wind. No one remained.
‘‘Allie?’’
Someone pulled her from her thoughts. She looked up as Nichole slowly lowered herself down the few steps.
‘‘I brought you these leather boots. They may be a little big, but thick socks will help them fit.’’ Nichole handed her a fine pair of leather footwear that seemed an odd mixture between a boot and a moccasin.
Allie accepted the gift with a nod.
Nichole flipped over the top of one of the boots and slipped a knife from the leather at the calf. ‘‘I found them to be very good boots during the war when I was on the run. This might come in handy for you sometime.’’
Allie met her gaze. Silently, she thanked her for the weapon. The boots seemed a great gift, but the hidden weapon was priceless.
‘‘I don’t understand,’’ Adam said as he followed Wes to the horses. ‘‘Why are you taking her with you? We talked about it last night. She’d be safe with us.’’
Winking at Allie, Wes explained, ‘‘She told me she wanted to go. We had a long talk last night.’’
‘‘Are you sure?’’ Adam seemed worried. ‘‘You’re not fully recovered.’’
Wes crossed between the horses, nodding his good morning to Daniel. He checked the cinch and stretched out his hand. Allie joined him, allowing him to lift her into the saddle and adjust the stirrups to her leg length.
‘‘Thanks for finding the fresh mounts, Dan,’’ Wes said as he worked. ‘‘You got most of Papa’s sense about horses.’’
Wes didn’t look at his younger brother, or expect him to answer. Daniel had a way of never having anything to say when emotions ran high in him.
Adam was another story. He paced restlessly just as he had every time Wes had ridden off to battle during the war.
‘‘Stop acting like I’m kidnapping the woman again.’’ Wes grumbled at the doctor. ‘‘She wants to go with me. Since she’s my wife right now, there is no reason she shouldn’t.’’
‘‘I thought the priority here was finding her family, not looking for a ghost treasure.’’
Wes frowned. ‘‘It is. But we have no leads on her people. I can’t just sit around and wait. You know if I had a direction to go, finding her family would be first. But, until then, I have to do something.’’
Adam nodded his understanding of his wandering brother and moved to the other side of Allie’s bay horse. He looked up at her as he touched her knee. ‘‘Take care of him, will you, Allie? He has a way of finding trouble.’’
Allie didn’t answer.
‘‘We’re wasting daylight!’’ Wes swung into the saddle and kicked his horse into action.
Allie took one last look at the crazy people who’d been so kind to her, and reined her horse half quarter. She felt sure Nichole would be starving on the streets by the time she saw her again at the rate the woman gave away her clothes and food. As for the doctor, he seemed no less giving. He was a healer who didn’t know his own power. And the big one they called ‘‘little’’ brother wore his heart reflected in his eyes.
Wes’s brothers waved and Allie saw Wes give them a quick salute.
‘‘Keep an angel on your shoulder,’’ Daniel yelled suddenly.
‘‘And your fist drawn,’’ Adam added.
‘‘Until my brother is there to cover my back,’’ Wes finished as he kicked up dust.
She rode beside Wes away from town thinking of how hard she’d worked to get each of her possessions that were still hidden in the cave. She’d had to make ten of anything before she’d be allowed to keep one. And that one always had to look poorly done or someone would take it from her. In the tribe, everything she made belonged to the old woman.
But, slowly, she’d collected bits of clothing and furs. Once she was alone, no one stole her things. If Wes knew what a wealth she had in pelts, he’d think her a fine wife. Maybe.
All day, she thought of telling him as they rode south. Wes only slowed long enough to water the horses and hand her a bite to eat from a food pouch. He said little.
