My Savage Heart (The MacQuaid Brothers) (38 page)

“I
won’t leave!”

“Don’t be stubborn, Caro. You heard what Mr. MacQuaid said.” The moon now hung just above the tree tops, limning the stark branches with its soft glow. “Caroline, where are you going?” Edward abandoned his spot near the canoe and raced after his sister.

Ignoring Ned’s chatter, Caroline scrambled up the bank, staring into the shadows. It was difficult to hear anything above the rhythmic pounding of drums. Taking a deep breath, Caroline clasped her hands together. Despite the cold, her body felt damp with perspiration.

Where was he? Her silent litany seemed to pulse with the timbre of the Cherokee’s chant. It couldn’t have taken him this long to find the stupid blanket. Again and again, Caroline chided herself for her carelessness in leaving it. If she’d only thought to reach down and pick it up when it slipped from her shoulders. If she could only live that moment again.

But she hadn’t realized. She just hadn’t thought. And because of that, the man she loved was... was what? Her fingers twisted together. Why didn’t he come?

“Caro.” Ned’s voice was breathless from the climb to her side. It also had a pleading quality that grated on Caroline’s already taut nerves.

“I’m not leaving him here alone, Ned,” she said facing him, her hands akimbo. “If you wish to go, then do so. But stop pestering me.”

“For God’s sake Caroline, I promised him I’d take you to safety.”

“I said no!” Caroline realized she’d raised her voice; and even though she doubted anyone could hear over the noise from the village, she lowered it. “He’s the father of my child, and I love him.” She hadn’t planned to say that. The words simply spilled out.

Covering the hand that clutched her arm with her own, Caroline stepped closer to Ned. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, before turning back to scan the expanse of endless forest.

“I... I don’t understand.”

“I know you don’t.” Caroline took a deep breath. “And I really can’t explain it. Not now, at least.” She was vaguely aware that her brother’s fingers slipped off her sleeve, and she heard his footfalls as he slid back down the bank. She hoped he would climb into the canoe and paddle to the fort. She wanted him safe. She just couldn’t sacrifice Wolf... not anymore.

She watched and she prayed, but it was Ned who first heard the rustling upstream from them. He rushed to her side, pulling her down to the ground when she would have run toward the sound. “We don’t know it’s him,” he breathed.

But moments later Caroline was struggling to her feet, surging forward and leaning against Wolf’s chest. His arm tightened about her, and he lifted her up, only to set her down quickly.

“What are you still doing here?” It took him longer than he expected to find the blanket, then he’d run into a sentry who’d taken exception to him being there. Hiding the body was also time consuming. Considering how late he was, he assumed Caroline and Ned were already gone. But he’d planned to follow the river, hoping to catch up with them if they encountered any trouble.

“She wouldn’t leave,” Ned said as he pushed the canoe into the current. Wolf was on the shore brushing away their tracks with a pine branch. “And after she explained things to me, I thought it best to stay, too.”

Wolf waded out into the water, then climbed into the back of the canoe. He resisted asking Edward, who sat in front of him, what exactly Caroline had explained. For right now, they needed all their energy for paddling.

The river above the fall line was shallow, filled with rocks that kept the current bubbling and the passage difficult. White water splashed over the sides, making all three occupants wet and cold. But they kept going. Through the long night.

Near dawn, Caroline heard a great thundering sound that reminded her of the Cherokee drums. For an instant she thought they were upon them again, and she twisted, looking back at Raff.

“We’re coming to some falls,” he answered her unspoken question. “We must paddle to shore soon and portage the canoe across land for a mile or so.”

The current was already strong, pulling them closer to the precipice, but they managed to make it to the side. As Caroline dragged her wet skirts from the canoe, she looked around. Mist rose off the water and filtered through the bare-branched trees. “Do you think we’re safe here?”

“I imagine they know by now that you are missing.” Wolf shrugged as he pulled the canoe higher onto the shore. He turned, and his eyes met Caroline’s. “It depends on how important you are to Tal-tsuska whether he chooses to come after you.” He paused. “My bet is that he is already on our trail.”

Caroline held his gaze a moment longer before taking a deep breath and turning away. “I’ve done nothing to—” Caroline’s lashes lowered as she felt Wolf’s hand on her arm.

“He knows it is I who came for you. I am certain of it. He also knows what you mean to me.”

He stood very close to her; and when Caroline looked up, she could see the dark fire in his eyes. His words were no declaration of undying love, yet she sensed he cared for her. She wanted to lean into him. To have him hold her forever. To take away the pain of loneliness. The reality that kept pounding in her brain as sure as the Indian drums.

But there was no help for the question that had haunted her since the morning of the attack. She’d waited this long to ask for she feared the answer... feared she already
knew
the answer.

“What of Mary?”

He reached out then, drawing her toward him with strong, steady hands. She held onto him, her fingers clutching the supple deer hide of his shirt as he said the words she dreaded to hear.

Caroline’s face was tearstained as she lifted her head. “And Colleen? What of her baby?”

“She died before I arrived.” Wolf rubbed his hands across her narrow back, wishing he could absorb her pain. “Edward and I buried them at Seven Pines.”

Caroline nodded. “Mary would have wanted that. To be there when Logan comes home.”

Wolf hadn’t allowed himself to think of his brother’s reaction to Mary’s death, his child’s. Logan had entrusted their safety to Wolf when he left, and now they were both buried beneath the sandy soil of Seven Pines. And now there were others who needed his protection.

Wolf held Caroline at arm’s length. “We need to be on our way.” His voice gentled, and he lifted one hand to skim away a crystalline tear poised on the fringe of her lashes. “Are you going to be all right?”

“Someone told me once that the frontier is unforgiving.” She straightened her shoulders. “I shall be fine.”

The trek over the rocks was not easy, and she wasn’t even carrying the canoe. They rested near the summit of the falls, Edward sinking quickly to his knees after he and Wolf lowered the boat. After a quick admonition to stay where they were, Wolf slipped back the way they came.

“Does he think they’re following us?”

Caroline turned and faced her brother. It was the first time they’d been alone together since she’d made her revelation, and she wasn’t sure what to expect. He stared up at her, his innocent blue eyes seemingly out of place in a face hardened by the lessons of this wild land.

He was streaked with dirt and obviously exhausted, but he was managing, both the hardships of the wilderness and the knowledge of his sister’s fall from grace. Perhaps he was stronger, more resilient than she expected. She’d tried to protect him for so long, it seemed strange not to continue. But in that instant, Caroline decided he was man enough to know the truth.

“Raff feels they’ll follow. He only hopes we can reach Fort Prince George before they catch up with us.”

He seemed to accept this, nodding and drawing his knees up beneath his chin. “Things have been difficult for you here, Caro.” It wasn’t a question, and Caroline saw no reason to respond. “Why did you write, telling me those fanciful stories?”

“I don’t know.” Caroline sank down on the sandy ground near him. “’Tis an untruth,” she admitted with a sigh. “I wished for you to believe ’twas no sacrifice I made, coming here. You were so happy in school and ’twas so obvious that’s where you belonged.”

“Do you know how that makes me feel, that you gave up so much for me?” His guileless face was creased with lines of consternation.

“Nay.” Caroline reached out for his hands. “Do not think so. I have some regrets but—”

“Some?” He stood. “How can you say that when you are stuck in the wilderness, surrounded by savages, and carrying—” He stopped and suddenly grew very attentive of the rushing torrent to his right.

“When I spoke of regrets, Ned, it was the death of Mary and her baby... the death of my husband that I meant. And, of course, I would rather be somewhere warm, and dry, and safe. But I do not regret this child, nor do I repent the circumstances of his conception.”

“Caro...”

“No, Ned, listen to me. I won’t have—”

“I thought you two were tired.” Wolf stepped into the small clearing and slipped the rifle from his shoulder. “If there was a Cherokee within a mile of here, he’d have heard you.”

Caroline’s hands slipped from her hips. Heat from her flushed face burned her cheeks as she tried to remember everything she’d said, and how loud she’d been. “Did you see any Cherokee?” She knew that should be her first concern.

Wolf finished drinking from his cupped hands and stood. “No. But I think we should get moving.” He turned toward Edward, who stood, his hands hanging by his side, his expression closed. “You want to give me a hand with this?”

Together they hefted the canoe over their heads and started down toward the calmer water beneath the falls. By early afternoon, they were back on the river. Edward was asleep, his chore of paddling taken over by Caroline.

“Trouble with little brother?”

Caroline glanced over her shoulder. She lost the rhythm with the paddle, but Wolf simply arched his brows. His hair was loose and whipped about his face, making him look wild, part of the land around them.

“I suppose you and your brother are never annoyed with one another.” As soon as she spoke, Caroline wished the words back. Thoughts of Wolf’s brother only reminded her of Mary. Of the woman’s desire to see her husband again.

“Logan and I never had much good for one another until right before he decided to leave. But I cannot recall us ever yelling at each other.”

“We weren’t yelling.” Perhaps she had raised her voice in explanation but... Caroline slapped her paddle into the water. “What did you hear?”

“Not much.” Wolf guided them around a rock jutting from the middle of the stream. “Just enough to know you—Get down!”

“What? I—” Before she could do more than look around, a powerful arm dragged her from her seat, knocking her to the bottom of the canoe. Caroline was vaguely aware of Ned sputtering a question, then dropping down beside her, landing on her leg. She shifted, trying to see what was going on, and then she heard savage screams that made her blood freeze. Above her, she could feel the unleashed energy as Wolf paddled feverishly, first one side of the canoe, and then the other. The canoe was moving quickly, jerkily through the water, but still the noise didn’t cease. If anything, it seemed to grow closer.

Pushing up, Caroline could see Wolf huddled forward, the muscles in his neck standing out in bold relief as he pulled the canoe through the water. His eyes met hers for an instant, and his expression more than anything else told her how close their pursuers were.

“Let me help.”

“No. I do not want them to see you. After we round the next bend, I will head for shore. As soon as we are close enough, jump out of the canoe... both of you. Hide in the woods.”

“What about you?” Water splashed over the sides, and Caroline swiped at her wet hair.

“I will lead them on down stream for a while. After dark, follow the river to the fort.” His eyes met hers before jerking back to focus on the river. “I will meet you there.”

“No.” Caroline clutched the birch bark sides of the canoe and pushed forward. “I won’t let you sacrifice yourself.”

“Damnit. Caroline, get down.” He leaned to the right, maneuvering the canoe around the spit of pine-covered land that jutted into the winding current. “Do not argue with me. Ned! In about three minutes, when I give the word, I want you to drag your sister out of this boat and into the woods. Do you hear me, boy?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Can I count on you to do it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“No, he won’t,” Caroline said at the same time, drowning out her brother’s affirmative response. “I’m not leaving you.” She wouldn’t have, either, if he hadn’t chosen that moment to look at her, his dark eyes passionate.

“Do not make this harder than it is. Please.”

In that same instant, the canoe jolted to a stop, and Caroline lost her hold and fell forward. He grabbed her, his mouth grinding against hers in a quick, hard kiss. When he pulled away, he murmured something in Cherokee, then scooped up the paddle again. “Take her now, Edward.”

It happened so quickly, Caroline couldn’t even remember climbing from the canoe. One moment she was reaching out to Wolf, the next she was pushed down, flattened behind a bramble-covered rock, and he was gone.

“Keep still,” she heard her brother say, but it didn’t stop her from rising enough to see the canoes that followed Wolf down the river. They seemed to have fallen for his deception, for no one even glanced toward the thicket where Caroline and Edward hid. Both of the canoes followed Wolf.

“Where are you going?” Edward’s grip manacled her wrist, and he yanked her back when she tried to rise. “Raff said to stay here till nightfall.”

With a jerk she pulled her arm away. “I’m not sitting here while they catch him. They’re closer than ever thanks to his letting us off.”

“But he said—”

“I don’t care what he said. I’m going after him.” Caroline stood. “You may stay if you wish. I believe you can find the fort from here.” Without waiting for a response, Caroline picked up her skirts and raced down the shoreline. It wasn’t until she heard noise behind her that she realized her brother was following her.

“I’m not going back,” she said without even bothering to stop.

“I’m not asking you to.” With a surge, Edward caught up with his sister. “Just tell me this. What in the devil are we going to do even if we do find him?”