Tallchief for Keeps (5 page)

In the end, Elspeth had been forced to trek back down to Amen Flats with Alek. Her home offered protection from him that the wilderness could not provide.

She resented the way he looked at her, as though contemplating how she would have looked carrying his child. He wouldn’t get to her, not this time. The tiny, quiet town of Amen Flats would soon bore Alek; he’d go on his way and—

Elspeth glanced out her window, past her herb garden, to see Talia, striding toward her house, black Hessian boots gleaming. Olaf, a huge black dog of mixed breed, bounded at her side like a puppy.

Alek, as dark as Talia was fair, wore his parka over a navy turtleneck sweater and canvas trousers layered with pockets and tucked inside his laced hiking boots. With their arms
around each other, Alek and Talia were clearly happy. Alek had shaved, and his grin flashed at Talia, and then darkened and died as he met Elspeth’s gaze through the glass.

A warning prickled, then skittered up her nape and beneath her skin; with trembling fingers, she smoothed her single braid and gathered the dark red shawl closer. She didn’t doubt that Alek had contrived Talia’s visit this morning.
I’m not done with you, fair Elspeth.
…

Talia entered Elspeth’s kitchen, her arm tucked into Alek’s, and swooped to kiss Elspeth’s cheek. Talia was four months into her pregnancy, and her unpredictable emotions were definitely on the happy side today. She beamed at Elspeth through happy tears and hugged her. With Alek in tow on one side and Elspeth on the other, Talia looked like a child at Christmas-time, blinking through her tears.

‘Tin so happy. Now everything is perfect. Calum and Alek talked about everything last night—that’s why Calum didn’t come, since he’s catching up on some work. Alek cooked a marvelous dinner
last night—oh, Elspeth, he’s finally settling down. We won’t have to worry about him in those awful wars anymore. Mom cried when he told her he was planning to settle in Amen Flats.”

Alek met Elspeth’s startled look and arched his scarred brow. Elspeth forced her hand to steady as she poured herbal tea into the china cups and saucers. “How nice. I was just ready for tea. Join me?”

“Love to.” Alek’s Texas drawl raised the hair on the nape of Elspeth’s neck. He swept away Talia’s woolen wrap and tossed it to a chair. Elspeth didn’t like the way he arranged his parka across the back of her kitchen chair, as if he intended to stay.

She sliced the freshly baked loaf of whole-grain bread—she’d fairly attacked the rising dough, a substitute for bashing Alek and rendering him out of her life.

“Sleep well, fair Elspeth?” he asked too softly and too innocently.

“I always sleep well.” She lied. She’d had dreams of Alek as he was that night in Scotland. A huge, laughing man whose lips had lightly touched hers and
with enough magic to take her soul. The curve of his mouth had enticed her, mobile and generous and so soft she could fall into him with the brush of a feather. His chest had gleamed in the firelight, his heartbeat heavy with passion. Her stomach contracted almost painfully as a memory slid by—the moment he’d given himself completely to her…

“There’s Calum. I knew he couldn’t stand to be away from all the fun!” Talia dashed out of the kitchen.

Through the kitchen window, Elspeth watched Talia run toward Calum, who was scowling and clearly admonishing her about the dangers of pregnant women running. She leapt upon him, and he staggered back under the onslaught of her momentum and her flurry of tiny kisses.

“The Tallchiefs are fertile…Duncan’s Meggie was born before they’d been married a year, and Talia was likely pregnant when she married Calum. They’re very happy…a good match,” Alek murmured softly at Elspeth’s side.

“Yes. She’s been wonderful for
Calum.” While she loved her sister-in-law, Alek was another matter. He stood too close, his heat invading her clothing.

Alek trailed a dried stalk of lavender down her cheek and close to her ear as he whispered, ‘“When a man of Fearghus blood places the ring upon the right woman’s finger, he’ll capture his true love forever.’”

Elspeth pivoted instantly, only to be pushed back against the counter by the closeness of Alek’s body. His hands locked to the counter at her hips as he studied her. His thumbs brushed her hips, jolting her. No one touched her casually, much less caressed her with familiarity. She sent him a look that would send another man running, but Alek leaned closer.

“Calum placed Una’s garnet ring on Talia’s finger, and the legend came true. What was Duncan’s legend? The one about the Tallchief cradle? Ah, yes…‘The woman who brings the cradle to a man of Fearghus blood will fill it with his babies.’ Sybil and Duncan had Megan, a little sister for Emily, Sybil’s daughter, I didn’t they?”

He’d been prying at her life
again, firing her resentment of him. When Elspeth frowned at him, Alek I leaned closer. “I’ll find out, fair lady Elspeth. I’ll find f out about the Marrying Moon and the legend you guard in that cold heart—
^,f

Elspeth lifted her chin and met his black, raking stare. “I think you should make this easy for all of us and leave.”

He chuckled at that. “Tell me about last night. Did you dream of me?”

“You overbearing, conceited and stone-headed oaf.” Elspeth knew in that moment why Una had once dumped cold porridge over Tallchief s head. Why LaBelle, her grandmother, had tied Elspeth’s grandfather Jake to a chair.

“True,” Alek returned undaunted. “But from the way you kiss, I doubt you’ve been practicing since that night. Almost five years have passed—rather, four years and nine months—and I would have thought—”

Alek flicked a glance at the window, to Calum and Talia, wrapped in each other’s arms. “Did you really expect life to turn out beautifully after that moment on the rock? Did you really
think that one night—a brief sexual episode—would bind us happily ever after?”

“You…back off!” Elspeth despised her low, threatening tone, yet she hated Alek’s taunts more. He’d come too close, cutting her nearly to the bone. Five years ago she’d thought just that—that she had met her mate, that they had bonded. But Alek had ruined that fairy tale by calling out his wife’s name and devastating Elspeth before he went on his way.

Now he pushed on. “I’ve had months to forage in your life, putting the pieces together, Elspeth. A Bridal Tepee—a Tallchief tradition—the Sioux equivalent of a honeymoon palace. Hmm…and you have one alone…. Tsk-tsk, what am I to think? That you’ve been pining for me, your lost lover?”

Alek leaned over her, but she refused to move back. “Is that temper darkening those gray eyes? Or is it passion, fair Elspeth? I think you still want me.” Then he stepped away, leaving Elspeth clasping the counter for support.

Calum walked into
Elspeth’s kitchen carrying Talia. “She shouldn’t be running,” he stated with a proud grin as he lowered his wife to her feet. She stood on tiptoe to kiss him, and Calum beamed down at her.

“Sit,” Talia ordered after taking Calum’s denim coat away. Calum towered over his fair wife, grinning sheepishly while she smoothed his black hair and straightened his collar. Quiet, methodical and a professional investigator for companies with problems, Calum had captured Talia, claiming her for his own, almost instantly. Talia hadn’t made the chase easy, and still didn’t, keeping Calum on his toes.

When he sat, Talia plopped happily into his lap and snuggled against him. “This is nice. I’m so glad Alek is moving here. Though that was no reason to stick that earring in his ear—a commemorative moment, he said. I cleaned his ear last night, and then he rammed the earring back in again. He said it was a keepsake and won’t give details.”

“It was a very private moment.” Alek met Elspeth’s searing glance.

“I hope it was
properly sterilized.” Elspeth smiled lightly and showed her teeth.

“Thank you, Elspeth,” Alek returned too easily.

This town isn’t big enough for the two of us, and I am not the one who will leave.
Elspeth ran the shocking thought by and decided that if she wanted to, if Alek pushed her far enough, she would extend her own brand of welcome.

Calum frowned and glanced from Alek to Elspeth and back again. Her brother knew her too well, despite the protective cloak she’d drawn around her.

“Elspeth, come sit.”

Alek was there, pulling away her chair and waiting for her to slide into it. She refused to look at him. He slid into a chair next to her, and she edged her thigh away from the intrusion of his. Alek pushed his thigh firmly against hers and continued, “This Marrying Moon thing really interests me. That’s what you went to Scotland to find out about, wasn’t it? Talia said that you couldn’t read the entire passage in Una’s journal and wanted to find the original legend. Maybe
I could help. I’m good at translating rotten handwriting and bits of phrasing—like putting together a puzzle. I’d like to read Una’s journals if I may.”

“No.” Elspeth didn’t spare him pleasantries, and for a moment, Talia’s eyes widened. Calum glanced sharply from Alek to Elspeth and cuddled Talia closer.

Talia stepped into the silence. “Alek, Elspeth has just signed a marvelous contract with a Denver art gallery. It’s an exclusive contract…much more money than the custom work she’s been doing for her clients. Oh, she’s marvelous, taking bits of people’s lives and I blending them with wool and textures and colors. The gallery wants her to specialize in Native American designs, and if she wants, she can blend artifacts into the hanging. She did a sky, mountain, lake and meadow hanging for Calum and me, and it was gorgeous…a living harmony of blues and browns, something quiet and forever, you know. The wool was from Tallchief sheep, and she’d gathered the natural dyes from the Tallchief mountain.”

Alek reached to rub
Elspeth’s dark red shawl between his finger and thumb. “She does beautiful work. I’ve seen the Tallchief tartan and kilts. She must be a very patient woman.”

Elspeth fought the simmering temper threatening her; she didn’t care for him discussing her as if she weren’t there.

“She learned from her mother. She designed the Tallchief plaid from Una’s journals.” Like a child, bursting with excitement one minute and then sleepy the next, Talia settled closer to Calum. She took his hand and placed it over their baby. Una’s garnet ring gleamed bloodred as Talia caressed his hand. “Everything is going to be just great. Alek is shopping for a car—one he can restore. I hope it’s got a comfortable back seat. He was known for his necking and hot lips while in high school, almost more than his awards in writing.”

“I agree. We’re going to be just one big, happy family. You know, I’ve missed necking in back seats.” Alek looked at Elspeth and showed his
teeth in a bland smile.

Talia snorted delicately. “You and Anton—Anton’s our other brother, Elspeth—steamed up a few windows in your time.”

Alek flashed her a grin. “The steam was to keep my nosy sister from seeing how bored I was.”

“Amen Flats is a typical small town. There’s not much excitement here.” Elspeth traced the woven place mat with her fingertip. She didn’t want to think about Alek Petrovna’s hot lips or his necking tournaments in back seats.

“I’m staying.” Aide’s statement came back like a shot. Her fingers trembled, and her cup clattered against its saucer.

Ah! Alek thought, Elspeth doesn’t like to be pushed or teased. She prefers the comfort of her shadows. Yet what he wanted, to find the heart of the woman, to understand his fascination with her—in the turn of her lips, the fire in her smoky gray eyes—would require a bit of prodding and testing.

Alek inhaled
abruptly. The need to hold Elspeth close and soothe her, comfort her, ran through him like a freight train, winding him.

He wondered if she ever laughed—she had before their night in Scotland. He wanted to see that smiling curve of her lips, the happiness in her eyes.

Alek let his lashes drift down to shield his eyes—sometimes Petrovna eyes gave too much away.

With Elspeth, he had an uneasy suspicion that he would always want more.

Three

“D
uncan…Calum…Birk…I will not have you interfering with my life.” Elspeth snatched the loaf of freshly baked bread away from Duncan’s reach. She swooped to pluck the plate of farm butter from Birk’s poised knife. She placed the cutting board with the bread and the butter on the counter, then seized a buttered slice just before it entered Calum’s open mouth. “I am not a young girl needing my three big brothers running interference for me. It wasn’t wanted when we
were younger, and it definitely isn’t now. All of you stop.”

“Eating?” Calum looked meaningfully at his empty hand and then lifted an eyebrow at her.

“You know very well what I mean. Stop sniffing at the trail of something you think is disturbing me. With April coming this week, I’d think you’d have fields to plow and seed to sow.” Elspeth resented the sharpness to her tone; her brothers meant well and loved her.

Birk and Duncan leaned back in her kitchen chairs with almost the same expression—like wolves protecting the pack’s only pup. Her three brothers crossed their arms over their chests and studied her.

Duncan was the first to speak. “One week ago you came back from the mountain together. You were wearing a big Keep Back sign. Alek is wearing your earring in his ear—I’d recognize LaBelle’s gift to Mother anywhere—and you’re—”

“Frothing,” Birk supplied. “She’s beating her loom to death at warp speed—no pun intended.” Birk, younger but no less protective than his
brothers, watched her with shadowed gray eyes. She recognized the determined set of his jaw and the narrowing of his eyes, a reflection of a stubborn gene shared by all the Tallchiefs.

“Birk, you are almost engaged to Chelsey Lang. Why don’t you pay attention to her instead of me?” she asked too quietly.

“I pay plenty of attention to Chelsey. I just may marry her, but that doesn’t enter this discussion.”

“Chelsey is far too sweet and too sensible to marry you.” Elspeth had fought their protective instincts all her life, matching wits to keep them from suffocating her. She sipped her raspberry-leaf tea. “Let’s have this out here and now. You three have been hovering around me since the day Alek arrived,”