Heart of the Hunter (9 page)

Kelly stared out the window as darkness fell over the land.
Would she have meekly obeyed the rules of the day, or would she have dared to
speak out for what she believed in? Would she have defended a woman’s right to
own property, to vote, to smoke and drink in public?

Probably not, Kelly mused. She’d never been much of a
fighter. And she wouldn’t have wanted to live back then, either.

With a sigh, she fell back on the bed and closed her eyes.

A hand on her arm. A breath of warm air against her neck.
The scent of sage and smoke.

Only half awake, Kelly opened her eyes and blinked into the
darkness.

“Tekihila.”

“Blue Crow.”

She felt the mattress sag as he sat down beside her.

“Soft,” he muttered. “How do you sleep on such a thing?”

Kelly shook her head. “What should I sleep on?”

“Mother Earth is the best bed.”

She made a soft sound in her throat, neither agreeing nor
disagreeing, mesmerized by the slash of his profile in the room’s dim light, by
the hypnotic touch of his fingertips slowly gliding up and down the inside of
her forearm.

“Walk with me,
tekihila?”

At her nod, he took her hand in his and helped her to her
feet.

Outside, he turned north, walking toward the distant
mountain.

“Where are we going?” Kelly asked.

“Does it matter,
skuya?”

“No.”

He smiled at her, his teeth gleaming whitely in the
darkness.

“In the old days, we would have been enemies.” He lifted his
hand and let it slide through the thick fall of her hair. “Your scalp would
have made a fine trophy.”

Kelly shivered. “Did you…did you…do that?”

“Han!”
he said, his voice ringing with pride. “I am a
warrior.” His hand slid down to her neck, resting lightly on her nape. “But I
never took the scalp of a woman,
tekihila.”

“I’m glad.”

“I would not have wanted your hair,
skuya,”
he
murmured, his voice washing over her like liquid sunshine.

“No?”

“No. I would have stolen you had I seen you then,” he said
fervently. “Had you been married, I would have killed your man and made you
mine.”

Kelly stared into his deep black eyes, not knowing if she
should be flattered or afraid.

“I would take you now,
tekihila,
if I could.”

“Would you?” It was an effort to speak past the thickness in
her throat.

“Han.
I would carry you high into the
Paha Sapa,
where
all life was born. And there, in the shadow of the sacred mountains, I would
give you laughter in the light of the day, and at night, in our lodge, I would
give you sons.”

No man had ever promised her anything as beautiful. Unable
to speak, she took his hand in hers and cupped it to her cheek. His palm was
hard and callused and warm.

For a time they stood there in the darkness, not speaking.
Slowly his hand slid from her neck and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder,
drawing her against him.

Wordlessly she moved into his embrace, placing her head
against his chest. She could hear his heart beating, strong and sure, and she
wondered how that could be. He was a ghost, a spirit, yet he was the most solid
thing in her life.

As though drawn by an invisible hand, she looked up, her
eyelids fluttering down as his head lowered toward hers. His kiss was gentle,
yet she felt as though she had been branded as his for all time.

Her lips felt bereft when he drew away. Gently he cradled
her head to his chest again, his arms holding her close, making her feel as if
nothing could ever hurt her again.

“Where is Roan Horse?” Blue Crow asked after a while.

“I don’t know. He said he was going into town.”

“Do you believe him?”

“Why shouldn’t I?”

“He is a troubled young man, haunted by his past, afraid of
his future.”

“Afraid? Of what?”

“Who can say what another man fears? His life has not been
easy. He does not trust others, or himself.”

“Do you think he means to hurt me?”

“There are many kinds of hurt,
skuya.”
His hand
caressed her cheek. “Holding you brings me more pain than you will ever know.”

“Does it? Why?”

“Because I have waited for you my whole life and now that I
have found you, I know you can never be mine.”

Kelly gazed into his fathomless black eyes. There were no
words to describe the emotion that his soft-spoken words aroused within her
heart, no words to describe the tenderness that swelled in her soul.

She could only look at him, hoping he could read her
feelings in her eyes, in the touch of her hand as she pressed it over his
heart.

“You never married, did you?” she asked.

“No. I was waiting, searching, for you.”

“And I was waiting for you,” Kelly murmured, realizing only
as she spoke the words that it was true.

She would never have been happy with the men she’d dated.
She knew that now, knew it as surely as she knew the sun would rise in the
morning, or that winter would follow the fall.

She loved Blue Crow.

“No,
skuya,”
he said, his voice as deep and dark as
the night that surrounded them. “You must not love me.”

“It’s too late,” she said, her voice breaking. “Too late.”

She buried her face against his chest, her eyes burning with
unshed tears.

“Do not weep,
tekihila,”
he murmured as he stroked
her hair. “Your tears are like a knife in my heart.”

“Kiss me,” she begged, and threading her fingers through his
long black hair, she drew his head down toward hers, losing herself in his
touch, in his nearness.

She felt the instant response of his manhood as their lips
met and she pressed herself against him, tears coursing down her cheeks because
she’d fallen in love with the one man she couldn’t have, a man who wasn’t a man
at all, but a ghost.

“Kelly! Kelly, are you out there?” Lee’s voice ripped
through the darkness. “Kelly?”

“Answer him,” Blue Crow whispered.

“I’m over here.” She clung to Blue Crow’s hand when he
started to pull away. “Don’t go,” she said, but he was already gone.

A moment later she saw Lee striding toward her.

“What the hell are you doing out here alone in the middle of
the night?” he demanded, his voice laced with anger.

“I felt like taking a walk.”

“You little idiot. Didn’t I warn you it was dangerous to go
prowling around alone out here?”

“It’s no concern of yours what I do!” Kelly retorted.

Lee frowned at her. “Have you been crying?”

“No.” She wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands. “Of course
not.”

“Have it your way. Come on, I’ll walk you back to the
house.”

“I don’t need a chaperon.”

“Fine,” he muttered crossly,
“You
can walk
me
back
to the house. Does that soothe your feminine vanity?”

“I don’t know what you mean!”

“You’re probably one of those feminists, right?” He muttered
an oath. “All that women’s lib crap, it makes me sick.”

“That’s because you’re not a woman.”

“Damn right.”

“Why are you so angry?”

“Why are you so stubborn?”

“I’m not.”

“The devil you’re not.”

Kelly came to an abrupt halt, her hands fisted on her hips
as she glared at him. “I hate you.”

“Good. I hate you, too,” he growled, and then, because he
could no more resist the lure of her pouting pink lips than he could refuse to
take his next breath, he yanked her into his arms and kissed her. Hard.

Kelly struggled against him, her fists pounding impotently
on his back and shoulders.

“Quit that, you little hellcat!”

“Let me go!”

Ignoring her futile protests, Lee backed her against a tree,
his hips grinding against hers, letting her feel the strength of his need. His
lips slid to her neck, her ear.

“Skuya,”
he murmured, his tongue delving into her
ear.

“Don’t call me that!” Kelly exclaimed.

“What?” He drew back a little.

“Skuya.
Don’t call me that.”

“Why not?” he asked, and then frowned. “You know what it
means?”

“Yes…no…just don’t call me that.”

Lee studied her face closely. In the moonlight, her skin was
like porcelain touched with star dust. Her tear-dampened eyes were luminous,
her hair fell loose around her shoulders, a perfect frame for her beauty. A
single tear hovered on the tip of her lashes.

His anger evaporated like smoke. “What is it, Kelly?” he
asked quietly. “What were you doing out here alone? Why were you crying?”

She shook her head, refusing to meet his eyes.

With a muffled curse, he drew her into his arms and held her
close.

“It’s all right, Kelly,” he murmured. “You don’t have to
tell me.” He rocked her gently, his hands making lazy circles on her back.
“It’s all right, sweetheart, everything’s gonna be all right.”

And swinging her into his arms, he carried her home and
tucked her into bed as if she were no more than a child.

“Lee? I…would you mind staying with me awhile?”

“No, I don’t mind.” And sitting on the bed beside her, he
held her hand until she fell asleep.

The hand holding hers was strong yet gentle, telling her
she was safe, telling her she was loved. She glanced up at the man walking
beside her, the warmth of his smile washing over her like sunshine, heating her
flesh with only a look, sending shivers of sensation running through her.

When they reached the river, he drew her into his arms,
his lips covering hers in a kiss that made her blood flow like warm honey and
drained all the strength from her limbs so that she swayed against him.

“Tekihila
.” His breath teased her neck.

“Kiss me,” she murmured.

“Gladly,
skuya.”

Little soft sounds of pleasure rose in Kelly’s throat as
his mouth covered hers. His tongue was a flame of fire, threatening to engulf
her until only cinders remained. She felt the need of his need and knew she
longed for nothing more than to ease his ache and her own.

Slowly they sank to the ground, surrendering to the
soul-deep need between them.

She had never known a man.

He had not held a woman in more than a hundred years.

Their coming together was like an inferno, two fiery
stars that collided in the night, coming together in fury and exploding in a
thousand bursts of flame until only ashes remained…

“Blue Crow?”

Kelly sat up, awakened by the cold and a sense of being
alone. Glancing around, she saw that she was in her own bed, still dressed as
she had been the night before.

Confused, she stared around the familiar room, her heart
growing heavy with disappointment when she realized it had only been a dream.

She heard footsteps in the hallway, felt her heart give a
little leap of anticipation as the door to her room swung open. The smile of
welcome died on her lips.

It was Lee.

“I’m glad to see you, too,” he muttered. “Here, I brought
you a cup of coffee.”

“Thank you.” She took the blue flowered mug from his hand.

“You feeling any better today?”

“Better than what?”

Lee took a deep breath, striving for patience. She made him
angrier quicker than any woman he’d ever known.

“Better than last night,” he said brusquely. “You want to
tell me why you were crying?”

Kelly stared into the cup to avoid his eyes. “I wasn’t.”

“Dammit, Kelly…”

“Let it go, Lee.”

“Fine. I’m gonna start on the roof today. If you need to go
into town, this might be a good time. I’ll be making quite a racket tearing off
the old roof.”

Kelly nodded. She did need to go to town. All week she’d
been expecting Harry Renford to call about the deed. This might be a good time
to find out just what was going on.

Putting the mug on the bedside table, she swung her legs
over the edge of the bed. “I’ll fix breakfast.”

Lee nodded, wondering what was bothering her, wondering why
she’d been crying last night.

“I’ll go feed the stock,” he muttered. On the way to the
barn, he gave himself a stern reminder of what he was doing at the Triple M, a reason
that had nothing to do with Kelly McBride.

Two hours later, Kelly was sitting in Renford’s office, her
hands clasped together in an effort to control her rising temper.

“How long does it take to get a copy of a deed?” she
demanded. “It’s been weeks!”

“I know, I know,” Renford agreed with exaggerated patience.
“But they’re having some trouble in the records department at the county seat.
Some nonsense about transferring the records to computers. You understand?”

“No, I don’t. I have a good mind to drive up there and see
what’s going on for myself.”

“Now, Kelly, I’ve told you before, there’s no need to worry.
The Triple M is yours, free and clear.” The smile that curved his lips didn’t
reach his narrowed eyes. “Free and clear, except for the balloon payment on the
mortgage.”

“What balloon payment? I thought I’d paid the mortgage in
full. I have a receipt.”

“Yes, well, I’m afraid I made a little mistake when I
calculated the amount due. There was a rather stiff payoff penalty I neglected
to allow for.”

“How much?”

Renford made a vague gesture with his hand. “I believe it
comes to just under six thousand dollars.”

“I see.”

Kelly looked out the window. Six thousand dollars wasn’t a
vast amount of money. She had a hundred times that much in gold, but she had very
little cash in the bank. Well, she thought resolutely, there was no help for
it. She’d just have to take a few of the larger nuggets and cash them in.

“How soon is the payment due?”