Echoes of the Heart (27 page)

           
The
leader sang to receive the young man then led him to the Council Rock to sit by
the Chief.

           
A
celebration by the entire tribe followed with dancing and food prepared by the
women.
 
Cash sat by Dull Knife talking of
old times and glorifying the memory of his lost son.

           
Cash
woke before sunrise the day they would all leave.
 
He walked with the others with blankets
around their shoulders to the beat of a tom-tom climbing the highest peak to
take part in the Sunrise Ceremony and sing to the Morning Star one last time
before they left their home.

Thirty-three

           
Raeden
spent several days at home since the store traffic had subsided, diligently
rendering her new ideas to paper for future use, maintaining some semblance of
reason that seemed to disappear when she thought of Cash and looked forward to
his return.
 

The angle of the
sun had changed through the window in her bedroom suite emitting a gloomy
ambiance so she kept the fire burning to keep the mood cheery while she worked.

           
Rumors
spread regarding the shooting in the Black Hills and on
arrival in town the next day, she walked to the marshal’s office to visit John
and find out if he knew anything regarding the shooting and Cash’s safety.

She knocked and
entered.
 
“Hello, John.
 
How are things going with you?”
 
Raeden noticed he did not seem upset or
worried.

John stood in her
presence.
 
“Everything’s under
control.
 
What brings you here?”
 
He flashed her one of his winning smiles.

She removed her cape
and sat in the wooden straight-backed chair next to the desk.
 
“I’m curious about the shooting in the Black
Hills.
 
There are rumors
going around.
 
Are they true?”

The muscles in his
face tensed.
 
“I’m not sure what’s going
on.
 
Cash will let me know when he
returns.”
 
He did not make eye contact
and Raeden felt him to be untruthful.

Being one to speak
her mind, Raeden pushed.
 
“I find it hard
to believe Cash would not have told you what’s going on.”

John fidgeted and
squirmed slightly as his eyes turned to the ceiling.
 
“Look, Rae, Cash will have to tell you
himself.
 
He doesn’t want to cause any
undue concern until he checks it out for himself.”

“It makes sense, I
guess.
 
Forget I even mentioned it.
 
He has been gone longer than he mentioned and
I became curious.”
 
She wrung her hands
together then stopped and placed them on her lap, not wanting to appear overly
concerned.

“Cash is
fine.
 
Don’t worry about the Cheyenne.
 
He has known them all his life.”

           
Rising
to exit, John helped her on with her cloak and held the door to let her pass.
He gave her a reassuring smile as she stepped over the threshold then watched
her walk away thinking he would have liked to have her for himself if his
scoundrel of a friend hadn’t caught her attention first.

           
John
thought Raeden the most beautiful woman inside and out he had ever met.
 
He had heard of her many kindnesses to the
less fortunate families around town, hoping Cash would recognize her special
qualities and treat her with due respect.

           
On
their travels around the territory, John had seen firsthand how Cash could
regard women casually, taking what they offered when it pleased him.
 
He had always looked up to Cash, but if he
hurt Raeden, it would be a disgrace.
 
Cash would have to answer to him personally in that event.

           
Then
he turned his mind to Caroline, sweet little Caroline.
 
He had an eye on her for some time, waiting
for her to mature.
  
At the dance, he
noticed her a young woman and so did others, at least the ones not tripping
over their own feet to get to Raeden.

           
He
knew she had an interest when he began visiting and started making plans to
build on the land he homesteaded where he ran a small herd.

***

Raeden returned to
her workroom, viewed the dwindling inventory of materials and pondered her next
move.
 
Should she go to St
Louis to replenish her stock? A visit to her family
would be nice and she missed them.
 
Tom’s
baby might arrive if she waited a few weeks, a perfect plan.

           
Trade
became slow as late autumn progressed toward winter, Mike and Diane stayed home
and let Raeden take charge most days.
 
She spent her time straightening and replenishing shelves.
 
Then she loaded canned goods and other
necessities into a basket to take to the Olsen’s.
 
An accident while working for the railroad
laid Mr. Olsen up with a broken leg.

           
She
also tucked some cash into an envelope and placed it at the bottom of the
basket she would deliver anonymously to their back porch.
         

           
The
bell jingled announcing Wayne Smith.
 
“Hi, Wayne.
 
It’s nice to see a face.
 
It has been so slow.
 
I haven’t had anyone to talk to.”

           
He
appeared happy to see her.
 
“It
happens.
 
Most things shut down through
the winter, except the saloon and hotel.”

           
She
made a mental note to ask Diane how they managed the store during the next few
months.

           
“I
dropped by to see about the ride we never completed.
 
Are you game?”

           
“What
a lovely distraction.
 
Wait a minute
while I change.”
 
She bounced across the
floor in her enthusiasm.

           
She
returned in her new riding garb and smiled when Wayne’s
mouth gaped as she entered in her tight jeans tying the shirttails in front
while she walked, her boots tapping across the wooden floor.

           
“Jeez,
Rae, I’ve never seen breeches look so good.”

           
“Thank
you.
 
Maybe I will start a new trend.”

           
Wayne
snickered.
 
“I don’t know if even the
women out here are up to such a thing, not to mention how their husbands might
feel.”

           
Unbothered
by his comment, she pinned a note on the front door,
Back in one hour.
 
He helped
her on with her jacket; she grabbed her hat and gloves.
 
“And we won’t forget this!”

Holding up a
poncho while they both laughed, she locked the doors then he gave her a hand
onto the saddle.
 
They cantered eastward
from town, the sun on their backs.

           
Raeden
missed her family and found Wayne a
brotherly sort.
 
They could joke and talk
easily.
 
She considered him a friend,
talking amicably as they rode out into the stark grasslands, the mud now
hardened by the cold.

           
Arte
felt his oats and she had to keep a tight rein while he tried to get his head.

“You sit a horse
well, Rae.
 
Can you toss a lariat as
well?”

“No I can’t, but I
know I could if I desired.”

           
“I
have no doubt.”

           
They
had just returned when Raeden spotted Cash in the wagon arriving from his
trip.
 
She urged Arte to a gallop and
smiled, so glad to see him.
 
He pulled
the horses to a stop glanced from her to Wayne
and glared.
 
A knife could not cut the
thick air around him; she recognized danger in the slant of his eyes.
 
What is
wrong with him?
 
He looks so
tired.
 
That must be it.

           
“Hi,
Cash.
 
I heard there had been trouble
with the Cheyenne.
 
Is everything okay?”

           
A
dark seamy gaze roamed over her clothing.
 
His eyes rolled up slightly while he shook his head.
 
“Look, Rae, I need a bath and a shave.
 
I’ll talk to you later.”
 
He drove off and did not look back.

           
Assuming
him jealous, she huffed.
 
He doesn’t own me.
 
I can choose my own friends.
 
He’s being rude again, like he used to.

Thirty-four

           
Bathed,
clean-shaven and dressed in clean clothing, Cash strapped on his gun and joined
Angie in the saloon.
 
After belting down
two whiskeys, he thought to take her to bed, but changed his mind.
 
His desire for Raeden seemed worse than ever.

The idea of her
with Wayne ate at his belly.
 
He didn’t even want another man to look at
her, especially with the get up she wore showing her graceful curves as if
wearing nothing.
 
Perhaps her newly
awakened desires had led her to the arms of another in his absence.

           
As
he entered the hotel room for another restless night, he thought his feelings
over regarding Raeden and Wayne.
 
They
had made no commitments to each other.
 
He did not want any.
 
However,
seeing Raeden with Wayne made him
jealous, though he would never let her know his true feelings.
 
Such thoughts could drive a man to
drink.
 
He had several more from the
bottle he kept in his room.

***

Raeden fumed.
 
She had been watching like a lovesick puppy
for Cash to leave the hotel in hopes he would come to see her, but instead he
entered the saloon.
 
He cleaned up to visit
the harlot with the over-sized breasts and red painted lips.
 
Unenviable feelings tore at her insides while
she locked up the store early and headed home.
 

She rode Arte hard
on the return trip, slowing only at a distance far enough away to let him cool
down before they arrived.

           
She
stomped to her room like a berated child, threw herself onto her bed, and
pounded her fists into the thick pillows venting her anger but refusing to
cry.
 

***

           
Raeden
stayed home for three days avoiding further contact with Cash trying to ignore
her injured pride.
 
She had pictured
their relationship special.
 
He had
seemed so sincere.
 
She missed him and
wanted her friend back.
 
It hurt too much
to leave it this way.
 
Perhaps if she
talked with him, she could salvage their friendship, if nothing else.
 
At least she should try.

           
After
changing from the riding garb that appeared to offend him into a dress, she
walked bravely to his office, swallowed her concern of rejection and knocked on
the door.
 
Her heart raced when he opened
the door because he seemed happy to see her.
 
“Cash, can we please talk?
 
Look,
about Wayne—”

           
He
pulled her inside and touched his fingers to her lips.
 
“Hush, Rae, I don’t want to hear it.
 
I didn’t like it, that’s all.”

           
“But
Cash—” He pressed her lips harder.

           
“I
said, I didn’t like it.
 
Let’s just leave
it there.”
 
He bent his head down and
smothered her lips with his own while his foot kicked the door closed.
 
He slid her cloak to the floor, as his lips
moved over her face and down her neck with a hunger near desperation as he
moved over the swell of her breasts, his breathing rapid.

           
Time
seemed to stop as she fumbled with the buttons of his shirt.
 
“Cash, take this off; I want to feel your
bare skin.”

           
In
one fluid motion, he ripped the shirt off his back and tossed it aside.
 
He continued to kiss her while her hand moved
over his chest, across hard nipples slowly inching downward.
 
She ran her fingers along the coarse curly
hair at his naval then under his waistband and he sucked air through his teeth.

           
“That’s
it!”
 
He unbuckled his belt and undid his
jeans.
 
Her back to the wall, he lifted
her skirts and tore off her under wear then pulled her long legs up and around
his waist.
 
He rested her dampness
against his naval while he exposed his manhood.
 
One arm behind her back as a cushion, he lowered her onto his hot
throbbing staff and impaled her, a growl escaping his throat.