“Stay as long as you like, Solomon. You saved us all today.” Dane replies. The housekeeper readies his room, and he smiles at them before he crashes falling instantly asleep.
Cassie sleeps, and she is an eagle again. Soaring through the winter sky. Below her, she sees four men on horseback riding fast for the mountains. Rage fills her heart at the thought of them escaping, she dips lower, and that's when she sees it. The Shoshone are following them waiting for the moment they leave the River's property. Terrified, the men push their horses harder for a small mountain ridge. If they can make it, they might escape.
They do not know what is waiting for them on the other side of the ridge, a group of Cheyenne warriors. She spreads her wings and calls out catching an updraft with her wings and soars away. Cassie does not have to watch them die to know they will not escape. She is truly free…
Her eyes open and she is alone. How will she face his family knowing she almost got them all killed?
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Dalton’s voice comes to her mind.
She hears him stomp the snow from his boots outside and the cabin door opens, bringing with it a brisk winter wind. A smile forms in her heart and she hears her family whisper of love, hope, and faith.
“No more tears, Cassie. Tonight, we start our life together. Will you dare to dream with me?” he demands moving to the bed with his hand out. She rises to her knees, with tears threatening and she grabs his hand like a lifeline.
“I will, Dalton.”
Epilogue
Two weeks later, Solomon is standing outside the small house which houses the post office and telegraph office in his Texas hometown. He didn't stop to visit his family, he needs to see Faith and Hope. When he opens the door, and the bell rings, a man comes out from the back room.
“Can I help you, sir?” he asks.
Confusion filters through Solomon’s mind for a moment. “I am looking for Faith?”
“I'm sorry she left two weeks ago,” the man answers. Fear crosses his face when he sees the look on the larger man's face.
“Where did she go?” he demands.
“I, I don’t know. She didn’t say.” His voice trembles and Solomon storms out and thunders to his family ranch.
She left? Why would she leave? Damn contrary woman. His mother steps outside when she hears a horse. Tears cloud her eyes. They’d received his telegram but seeing him alive is too much. “Solomon,” she weeps when he hugs her tight. Soon he is surrounded by crying females and his father's booming laugh sounds.
“About time, you came home, boy! Give the man some air.” His mother and sisters laugh and back up. He grabs his son and hugs him hard, pounding him on the back.
“Thank you, sir. I’m not so easily killed.” Exhausted and frustrated he looks at his mother and asks what he has been desperate to know.
“Where’s Faith?”
“Girls, go check on the bread for me, please.” After they leave, she turns to him and sighs. “I tried to talk her into staying with us, Solomon. When we thought you were dead…” her voice breaks, and he takes her hand. “It was horrible, and she was heartbroken. I think being here near us would have been too much for her.”
“Son, your telegram came after she was gone.” His father explains.
Solomon sits hard and thinks. “Where is she?”
“She moved to Corpus Christi, said she found a house. You should clean up and rest first…” but he has already turned and stomped out of the house.
His father laughs at the sound of his mother’s sigh. “He gets that from you!” she murmurs with a smile and kisses her husband.
“Wild horses wouldn’t keep me from you, either.”
Solomon rides hard and fast through his ranch. For weeks he has thought of nothing but her and the baby, only to come home to find her gone! Exhaustion beats at him, but he is desperate to see them. Three days later he rides into Corpus Christi and stops for directions. Of course, she would head towards the beach. When he turns in the lane, he decides to surprise her. He stops his horse and ties him to a tree, then walks slowly towards the small white cottage. It's a well taken care of house with a small porch and two windows. He smiles as excitement fills his mind.
He knocks on the door and to his surprise, he gets no answer. He knocks harder and still nothing. Where in the world could she be? He tries the door, but it’s locked, so he peeks in the windows. Empty.
Grumbling, he stomps down the steps and looks around the front yard, before trying the back. He walks around the side of the house and finds her coming out of a small root cellar. Her red hair glistens against the cold gray bleakness of winter. She is dressed in a black dress, for mourning and doesn't notice him. In her arms, she is carrying a few glass jars, and she kicks the cellar door closed.
Faith catches movement out of the corner of her eye, and she stills. She left the rifle inside while she came out back. When she turns towards the shape, she freezes for a second not quite believing what she's seeing. Her mouth opens as if to speak, but no sound comes out. Then she is flying towards him, glass jars fall heedlessly to the ground, and he meets her halfway.
“There's my girl!” he lifts her into his arms, and she sobs his name out.
“Solomon!”
He smiles down at her, and his pent-up desire hits him. He claims her mouth with a hunger that only she can fill. Her
