Chapter Thirteen
COLT
The sun beats down on the dry barren land and I watch as the world around me seems to stand completely still. The rain has come, there have been clouds and there has been what I can only guess as magical light, at least that’s how Logan describes it. I’ve yet to see it for myself.
“You’ve talked to her, then?” Logan asks, coming up behind me before he stands to my side.
“Why do you ask that?”
“She’s not crying, the weather seems eerily calm, plus she and Florence are chatting with the dressmaker as he measures her.”
“You’ve been watching my woman be measured?” I ask, my anger quickly boiling beneath the surface.
He chuckles, lifting his hand before he grips my shoulder and jerks me a few times. “I would not and you know it. I could hear their voices rattling around the house. I decided to come in search for you.”
“And?” I ask.
He doesn’t say anything immediately. “It’s time for me to go about my mission. I’ve stayed long enough.”
“When do the troops arrive here?” I ask.
There is a moment of silence and he continues to stare forward, expressionless. “Soon, within the week. They’ll be able to set up camp anywhere out here, yes?”
Nodding my head, I look down at my feet, spitting on the ground and watching it sizzle in the sun before I speak. “I will direct them. I’ll also get some extra food brought out as well. Birdie and I will go to town in the morning and I’ll get that handled.”
“You and Birdie will go to town?” he asks.
I can hear the smile in his voice and I can feel his eyes on me, watching me, no doubt in amusement.
Shrugging a shoulder, I look over to him. “Yes, Birdie and I will go to town. I’m not letting her out of my sight, and I’ve no doubt she will want to gather her own supplies since she came here with nothing.”
“Do these supplies include a ring?” he asks.
A snort escapes. A ring? Drat. “Marriage is not on the table, not ever,” I remind him.
He clears his throat. “The prophecy may have other plans, have you thought of that?”
Shaking my head, I lift my hand and readjust my hat, spitting again and again, watching it sizzle in the red dirt.
“It doesn’t matter what the prophecy says. She is the woman in my bed, nothing more. I will never marry again.”
Logan opens his mouth, but wisely closes it and doesn’t speak any further on the subject. Instead, his hand falls from my shoulder and he clears his throat. I watch as he takes a step forward before he stops and looks back at me.
“You’ll ensure my grandmother makes it back home safely?”
Nodding my head, I smirk over at him. “You know that I will, Logan.”
“If you need me, I am just a messenger away and, Colt?” Jerking my chin, I watch and wait for him to continue.
“Be safe, brother.”
He grunts, lifts his hand in a wave and I watch as he jogs toward the barn where his steed is stored waiting for their next adventure. I don’t look away until he’s mounted and riding toward the exit of my property and the main road.
Before he gets too far, Logan stops and turns his animal around to face me. “Colt?” he calls out. Lifting my hand, I signal that I’ve heard him. “She will be good for you, friend. She is what you’ve been missing.”
Without another word or an opportunity for me to respond, he turns his horse around, clicks his teeth, gives him a little heel tap and they’re gone. I watch as they disappear and his words play on repeat a few times.
She is what you’ve been missing.
I want to pretend the words are lies, that she is not what I’ve been missing, but that would only be a lie to myself. Birdie is exactly that. She is beautiful, intelligent, kind, and sweet. She’s irresistible, open, and matches me in the bedroom as well.
She is exactly what I need in this life—in this world.
She is exactly what I need to stay away from as well.
Birdie is not only what I need, she will be my weakness as well, and I swore that I wouldn’t ever have another weakness. When my enemies find out that she is connected to me in any way, that makes her a target.
If they think that she is what I need, they will destroy her. I already know how the enemy thinks. I have been in this situation before and I will not allow another innocent woman to be harmed because of me, because of who I am and my position.
I will not put my country in jeopardy with this prophecy either. I don’t know what would happen if she was taken by the enemy, that could cause issue with the gods’ entire plan.
Until we know more, Birdie stays at my side and she is nothing but a woman I seek out for physical pleasure in the night.
I hear the front door of the house open and turn around to see the town dressmaker walking toward me. He is a slightly overweight man in his mid-fifties, he’s wiping his bald head down with a handkerchief as he approaches.
“Your woman, Martha, said that Miss Birdie would need a complete wardrobe, including a few ball gowns and city dresses?” he asks.
He wants to know if he’s able to outfit her as the woman at my side, for all occasions and I have no doubt he will spread this all over town. It won’t take long for the Assembly to find out about her, and then they will try to push marriage.
“That is
