Teton Sunrise (Teton Romance Trilogy) (8 page)

You’re no better than that bastard who fathered you.

Alex cursed under his breath. He’d left his family, or what little there had ever been of one, behind six years ago, and for good reason. His old man was a drunkard who violently beat his mother. Even though he could never prove it, Alex knew without a doubt that his father had killed his mother in a drunken rage. Many times, Alex had walked away with bruised ribs and black eyes while trying to defend his mother. Back then, he’d been too young and scared to do anything other than absorb the blows that were meant for her.

He tried to push the painful memories of his childhood aside.  He should have just killed the bastard when he had the chance. Instead, he’d left St. Charles to make a new life for himself in the wilderness. His mother had always begged him not to become like his father whenever Alex spoke of seeking revenge. After her death, he’d respected her wishes and simply walked away. He’d found his escape by joining the Rocky Mountain Fur Company.

Alex clenched his jaw and kicked at some dried clumps of dirt in the grass. He’d acted no differently with
Evie
than how his father had always treated his mother. He could have easily broken her arms. A shudder passed through him. Determined not to become like his bastard father, Alex had never touched a drop of alcohol, even though it was available in abundance among his comrades. Last evening had been proof that he was just like the old man after all when his temper got the better of him. Violence had been the old man’s answer to everything.

Alex scoffed. The life he led now was more violent than anything he could possibly encounter in St. Louis or St. Charles. In order to survive in the wilderness, he had learned how to kill, and he had learned it quite well.
Be quicker and more brutal than your opponent
. That was the law of survival in these untamed mountains.
But to lose control so quickly with a defenseless woman?
A woman he wanted to protect, and who stirred foreign feelings deep within him; one who planted thoughts of a home and family in his head. All the things he’d never considered before.

A loud plop followed by a splash in the water several feet from where he stood startled him from his thoughts.  Alex wheeled around, his knife drawn. He relaxed instantly and sheathed his weapon. Sarah Osborne strode toward him with a determined look on her girlish face. She tossed another rock in his direction into the water. Was there something going on with
Evie
? She wouldn’t try and attack Aimee, would she?

“Walker,” Sarah called.

She’d grown since he’d last seen her more than a year ago. She had to be about the same age now as
Evie
had been when he left St. Charles to start his new life. Long-legged like a young deer, Sarah walked with the proud confidence of her father.

“Good thing you’re here, Walker.” Sarah stopped right in front of him. She glanced past him toward the creek.

“Is Evelyn causing problems?” Alex’s eyebrows furrowed.

Sarah stared at him for a moment, her own forehead wrinkling. “No, but Mama asked me to come find you.”

There was only one other reason Aimee would want to seek him out that he could think of. “The stitches are fine,” he said.

“It’s not about the stitches.” Sarah turned her head to the side and studied his face. “Do you know what this is, Walker?” She held out her hand, displaying a rectangular cake of soap.

Alex glanced at it, then back at the girl’s face. She behaved more like her mother all the time. She had the same determined look about her when she set out to do something. The fact that Sarah was up to something was quite apparent.

“’Course I know what it is.” He frowned.

Sarah thrust the soap at him. “Then use it,” she said firmly. She nodded with her chin toward the creek. “I suggest you take off your shirt and britches first, though.”

Alex raised his eyebrows.

“Well, you can’t bathe properly with your clothes on, now can
you.
” She expelled an exasperated breath of air. “I won’t look.”

 “What the hell do I want to bathe for?” Alex argued.

Sarah held her hands to her hips. “For starters, you smell worse than a grizzly that’s been wallowing in bison dung,” she said. “I’m sure Miss Evelyn won’t tolerate your smell for long.”

“What concern is it to her what I smell like? It keeps the bears away. Your father taught me that.”

“Walker, you’ve been in the wilderness with those comrades of yours much too long. Papa wouldn’t dream of coming home smelling like you do. Mama would toss him out like yesterday’s dishwater. You can cover yourself in bear grease and beaver musk all you want when you’re out running your traps, but when you come home, you’d better look and smell presentable. Which,” she glared at him through narrowed eyes, “brings me to my next
task.
” She produced a straight edge and a pair of scissors from the pouch hanging from her shoulder.

“After you’re done bathing, you’re getting a haircut and a shave.”

“You
ain’t
comin
’ near me with those scissors and that blade,” Alex said and took a step back. He warily eyed the sharp objects in the girl’s hand. He had no doubt that she knew how to use them as effective weapons if need be.

Sarah laughed. “What’s the matter, Walker? Scared of a mere girl? Don’t worry. Papa lets me shave him all the time. I haven’t cut him . . . much.”

Alex rubbed at the coarse hair on his face. “What the hell are you trying to do to me?”

“You’ve got a wife now, don’t you? Shouldn’t you make yourself more presentable to her? I bet in her eyes, you’re no better than the rest of these trappers who forgot what it’s like to live among civilized folk. Miss Evelyn is more than likely going to just toss you aside. I swear, Walker, don’t you know anything about how to show a woman some respect?”

Alex glared at the young girl. He’d never considered that by bartering for
Evie
, he’d bought himself a wife. Keeping her was out of the question. Hell, she was scared to death of him as it was.

And for good reason, Walker
.

If yesterday had been any indication of how quickly he could lose control, she was no safer around him than his mother had been around his father.

“Mama told me to give you these.” Sarah pulled clean britches and a cotton shirt from her pouch. She pushed the clothing at his chest,
then
turned to leave. She stopped abruptly to face him again. “Mama also told me to tell you that, after what happened yesterday, you and Miss Evelyn need to have a talk and clear up some misunderstandings. I’ll be waiting over by that stand of willows.” Sarah held up the scissors, and marched off.

Alex stared after her. Had he truly lost all touch with civilized society? Yesterday, Evelyn had called him a vile monster.  She hadn’t recognized him in St. Charles several months ago.

As a young girl, Evelyn Lewis had been infatuated with him, and he’d taken no notice. Alex shook his head and gave a short laugh. She’d been the last person on his mind over the years. He’d regarded her as his best friend’s pesky little sister, nothing else. He ignored that she often watched him when she thought he wasn’t paying attention.
Just some silly little girl’s fanciful notions.
 
She’s not so little anymore, Walker
.

Alex stared at the clear water in the creek, his reflection a blur as the water meandered by. No,
Evie
was certainly not a little girl anymore. Perhaps for both their sakes, it would be wise to make
himself
more presentable, at least until he figured out what to do about her. Against his better judgment, he slowly unbuckled the belt from around his waist. Pulling his shirt up and over his head, he gritted his teeth against the sharp pain the action caused to the incision on his chest.

****

“I’ll return within a few hours. If you need me for anything send one of the boys. I have already told them to stay near camp to watch over Sarah.” Daniel Osborne bent over to give his wife a lingering kiss on the lips,
then
favored her with a soft smile before he turned and strode from camp.

Evelyn sat near the morning fire, silently observing the couple. The love and devotion between these two people was evident in everything they did; a soft touch, a warm glance, a quick smile. Evelyn marveled at the difference in appearance and behavior between this mountain man and the rest of the trappers she had encountered so far. Daniel Osborne was a rare man, she concluded. And his wife Aimee was an even rarer woman. That they had successfully made this wilderness their home and raised a family was astounding.

“If you see Amos Harris, tell him if he wants his boil lanced, he’ll have to come see me today,” Aimee called after her husband. “I’ll start packing so we can be on our way bright and early.”

Evelyn’s head snapped in Aimee’s direction. Her heart jumped in her chest suddenly.

“You’re leaving?” she asked, setting aside the wooden bowl in her hand. Her appetite vanished.

Aimee nodded. “Tomorrow morning. We have to return home. Daniel’s done trading his furs.” She cast a worried look in Evelyn’s direction.

“I see.” Evelyn lowered her gaze to the ground. She raked her teeth across her lips. What would become of her? For the first time in weeks, she’d felt completely safe, even around Aimee’s husband, Daniel. He was well groomed and less intimidating than the rest of these trappers that milled around camp.

Alex had disappeared the previous evening after she nearly attacked him with the knife, and she hadn’t seen him since, which had suited her just fine. He was nothing more than an overbearing brute, as wild and uncivilized as the Indians she’d seen. Evelyn rubbed absently at her wrists, which bore the marks of his firm grip.

“Will you take me with you?” Evelyn stood abruptly and stared at Aimee. Her bold request was rude and imposing, but she didn’t know what else to do. She had no one, and nowhere else to go.

Aimee studied her,
then
her eyes focused on something behind Evelyn, and her face brightened in a wide smile. “Alex, you’re just in time for breakfast. Would you like some coffee?”

Evelyn wheeled around at the sound of his name, her heart lodged in her throat. A man who was a stranger, yet looked oddly familiar strode into camp. She stared at him, open-mouthed. An older version of the Alex she remembered, the quiet, mild-mannered youth from her childhood dreams now walked toward her. His face was clean-shaven, and his dark hair trimmed to below the nape of his neck. The grease-stained buckskins he’d worn the day before were gone, replaced by a clean cotton shirt and what looked like newly sewn buckskin britches.

“
Mornin
’,
Evie
,” he said, his voice barely audible. His blue eyes held her gaze.

Evelyn tried to speak, but she couldn’t bring forth a single word. Her mouth had gone completely dry.

“He was rather disagreeable, Mama, but as you can see, the task is accomplished.” Sarah rushed into camp from the same direction Alex had come from, a triumphant grin on her face.

“Come along, Sarah,” Aimee said, and grabbed her daughter’s arm. “You and I have
work
to do.” She faced Alex.
“If you’ll excuse us.”

When Sarah opened her mouth, Aimee shot her a warning glare, and pushed her daughter away from camp toward their tent.

Evelyn curled her toes inside her shoes as if it would root her to the ground. An overwhelming urge to run after Aimee and Sarah swept over her. Instead, she
glanced
up at Alex, who hadn’t moved, nor had he stopped looking at her. Heat rose up her neck and into her cheeks from his intense perusal.  How many countless times had she thought about him over the years? He looked just as she envisioned him. No. He was even more handsome than what she’d imagined. How could the face staring back at her be the same face as the hardened mountain man she’d seen yesterday?
The face of a murderer?

Alex cleared his throat. “I . . . ah, brought you this.” He held out a bundle of tan-colored cotton material.
“Traded for it this morning.
Thought you might like something else to wear other than your brother’s old britches. I hope it’s enough to make a dress.”

Trying to steady her hands, Evelyn reached for the muslin material that he offered. Her fingers grazed his, and she jerked back. In one quick move, Alex’s hand reached out, and his fingers wrapped around her hand to keep her from pulling away. He stepped closer and lifted her arm, slowly rotating her wrist. Evelyn held her breath. Memories from the evening before flooded her mind, when Alex had squeezed her wrists to the point of cutting off her circulation. Aimee wasn’t here this time to stop him.

A dark frown formed on his face, and the muscles along his jaw visibly tightened. Alex stared from her face to her hand from beneath his lashes, his blue eyes darkening. His other hand reached out, and he slid the sleeve of Evelyn’s shirt up her arm, fully exposing her wrist. His work-roughened fingers gingerly touched her skin where red marks encircled her. His light touch felt like a caress, sending shivers racing up her arm.

“
Evie
, I . . .”

Evelyn yanked her hand from his grasp and took a step back.

“You what, Alex?” she said heatedly. Shielding the turmoil that raged inside her with anger, she fisted her hand at her hip and leaned forward. “You’re going to tell me again that you didn’t kill my parents?” She pointed at his chest. Her eyes narrowed, and she continued, her voice growing louder with each word. “That bullet hole proves that you were there. If
Charlie’s
 
aim
had been better, you’d be dead, Henry would be alive, and I wouldn’t be in this awful place.”