Wild West Wife

Jesse continued to study her. She wondered if she’d missed a smudge of dirt on her face and tried to casually wipe her cheeks.

“That’s not what I imagined,” he said at last. “You’ve been through some difficult times.”

She shrugged. “I suppose. It’s all I know.”

“Do you miss Chicago?”

She thought about the tiny room that was so hot in the summer and so very cold in the winter. She thought about the sick and the dying, the stench of the open sewers, the fear of being attacked when she walked home late after tending an ill patient. In the past four years only three men had invited her out for an evening and she hadn’t liked any of them. There were, she knew, lots of young men in the city, but she didn’t know how to meet them. While a few friends had offered to introduce her to brothers and cousins, she always felt shy and silly and she’d refused. So she remained alone.

“No,” she said softly. “I don’t miss it. I wanted something different than I had there. I know how to work hard and I’m not afraid. Mr. Stoner and I can build a good life together here.”

She thought about her fiancé and wondered if he was already out looking for her. It would have been difficult to get men together in the darkness, but she was sure that first thing this morning, they would begin the search. Perhaps they’d already started. Her heart quickened. At this moment, he could be on horseback, retracing the journey she’d taken with Jesse. Perhaps in a few short hours, she would be with him.

A quick movement caught her attention. Jesse stood up, his body stiff with tension. She knew it was because she’d mentioned Lucas. Well, none of this was her fault. Jesse was the one who had kidnapped her and if he didn’t want her talking about Lucas, he could take her to town and let her go.

“How long do you intend to keep me prisoner?” she asked.

“For as long as it takes.”

“You want money? Is that it?”

He turned his cool gaze on her. “No. Not money. Information. A confession.”

Frustration filled her. “Why do you insist on blaming him for what happened to your family? I’m sure he wasn’t—”

He cut her off with an angry flick of his hand. “Lady, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You have one letter from a stranger and nothing more. You’ve never met the man, nor have you spoken to anyone who knows him. If you want to believe he’s the archangel Gabriel, that’s your business, but I don’t want to hear about it anymore. As far as I’m concerned, Lucas Stoner is a murdering son of a bitch and I want to see him hang.”

She opened her mouth, then closed it. This wasn’t the time to reason with him. Later, when he’d calmed down, she could try to explain the situation to him. Or maybe it was better if they avoided the topic altogether.

“You are entitled to your opinion,” she said stiffly and took a bite of the dried meat.

“Thank you,” he said sarcastically. “Now if you’ll hurry up your breakfast, we have a lot of ground to cover today. I want your word that you won’t try to escape.”

She’d forgotten about her plans until he mentioned them. In the daylight, the forest didn’t look so frightening. Maybe she could find the road, then make her way to town. Wouldn’t Lucas be proud of her for getting away all on her own!

“Don’t even think about it,” Jesse told her. “If you don’t give me your word, I’m going to tie your hands. If you remember from yesterday, it’s not a very comfortable way to travel.”

She popped the last bit of beef into her mouth and turned her back on him. Although she hadn’t promised, he seemed to take her actions as agreement because he didn’t bother with the rope. Which was fine with her. There was no way she was going to just accept her fate. She had a life she needed to get on with and Jesse Kincaid wasn’t going to stand in her way. At the first opportunity that presented itself, she was going to run.

CHAPTER FIVE (#ulink_1c40fcb3-0120-53f9-8de5-20d7865a501d)

Haley couldn’t remember ever having been this thirsty, hot, tired and sore. She stayed in the saddle by sheer will alone, simply because she knew it would hurt too much if she allowed herself to fall to the ground. Not that she was sure she could feel a whole lot more pain. Her thighs felt as if they’d been stretched two inches too long. Her rear was one giant bruise. The sun beat down unmercifully and she could feel her face burning. If only she had a bonnet. Or a glass of water. If only she was still in the carriage. A queasy stomach was simple compared to this.

To make matters worse, Jesse didn’t seem to notice. He rode a few feet ahead, sitting comfortable in his saddle as if he’d been riding since before he could walk. He probably had been, she thought grimly, tugging at her suddenly too-tight collar and wishing a few clouds would appear in the brilliant blue sky. From time to time she heard a faint noise that sounded suspiciously like whistling. As if this were a great adventure to him. As if her suffering meant nothing.

If she were standing on solid ground instead of undulating on this poor excuse for transportation, she would stomp her foot and tell him exactly what she thought of him.

Then she heard the most perfect sound. At first she was afraid she was imagining it. The soft rush of water over rocks. A stream? Her mouth watered at the thought and she rubbed her cracked, dry lips.

“Is there a stream up ahead?” she asked.

“Yeah.” He glanced at her over his shoulder. “I thought we could take a break there.”

“I’d like that.” Gratitude filled her and she nearly smiled at him before she remembered it was his fault she was suffering in the first place. If he hadn’t come along, she would be in Whitehorn by now, possibly entertaining Lucas before the wedding. Or she might actually be getting married at this very minute. Her new, perfect life would be starting. But instead, she was stuck in the wilderness, dying of thirst and slowly roasting alive in the afternoon sun.

She would never have guessed it got hot in Montana in the spring. Last night the temperature had dipped below freezing, but today was just like summer. Under other circumstances, she might have enjoyed the unexpected warmth. Under other circumstances, she might have been willing to make polite conversation and be an agreeable companion. But right now all she wanted was to get off the horse and have something to drink.

Five minutes later, she reined in her mount and slowly slipped to the ground. There was an awful moment when she wasn’t sure her legs were going to support her. Everything shook. Her thighs, her knees, her insides.

Jesse dismounted and grabbed her horse’s reins. “You might want to walk around for a bit,” he said. “That’ll ease the stiffness.”

“I doubt it,” she told him, not bothering to look at him.

She made her way to the stream and crouched down by the flowing water. It was as icy as the one they’d camped by last night and she nearly laughed her delight. Again the taste was almost sweet. In some ways she felt as if she’d never really tasted water before. This clear, nearly sparkling liquid was nothing like what she’d grown up drinking. There was no odd color or odor, no taste of the barrel. The closest she’d come had been rainwater and that was a rare treat.

When she’d sipped her fill, she straightened and walked around on the bank. Moving did help, although she wasn’t going to admit that.

Jesse walked down to the edge of the bank and broke a branch off a sapling. She’d noticed him doing things like that before. He’d taken a length of ruffle from one of the petticoats in her carpetbag and cut it up into small pieces, one of which he lodged in the broken branch.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Leaving a trail.”

She glanced across the stream to the other side. It was thick with trees, but she thought she saw a narrow path. “Are we going that way?”

“No.”

She frowned. “Then why...” Her mouth hung open for a moment, then she snapped it shut. She thought about all the times he’d stopped to break branches or leave bits of cloth. He usually did it when they changed direction or stopped. But the broken branches and pieces of petticoat didn’t lead to them. Jesse was using them to send her rescuers in a different direction.

“You’re tricking them,” she said, as the anger returned. This time she was standing on the ground, so she placed her hands on her hips and stomped her right foot hard. “You’re sending them away from where we’re going.”

“That’s right,” he said as easily as if he were agreeing to the day of the week. “I want them close, but I’m not ready for them to find us.”

“Find me, you mean.” Frustration boiled as her anger flared. “You want to keep me as long as you can.”

Dark steady eyes studied her. “I want to keep you as long as necessary, Haley. I’m not doing this because I want to. I’m doing it because it’s the only way to get Stoner to talk to me. When he gives me the information I need, I’ll let you go.”

“But I want to go now!”

“I’m sorry. I can’t do that.”

He sounded sincere, but that wasn’t good enough. She looked around for a rock or a branch. Something with which to threaten him and convince him to let her go. She could feel her promise of happiness disappearing with every passing minute. She’d already waited so long. She wanted to meet Lucas. She wanted to be with him.

Jesse finished tucking the length of torn fabric in the tree branch and crossed to her. “Haley, I know this is difficult for you. I’ll turn you over to Stoner as soon as I can. I promise.”

“I’m not interested in your promises. You’re nothing but a criminal. You’ve kidnapped an innocent woman, kept her in the woods and Lord knows what else you have planned.”

A dull flush climbed his cheeks. He pushed his hat back on his head. “We’ve been over that one already. You know I’m not going to hurt you.”