The Officer and the Traveler (26 page)

“
No other men have ever left the fort at night?”
 

“
Not that I know of. Only a fool would be brave enough to leave the security of the barracks in order to face a tribe of Indians and actually assault one.”
 

“
Which supports the theory she had a lover from her own tribe.” She groaned. “But still that wouldn’t make sense that she’d bring the problem here unless they were certain they wouldn’t be found out.” She snapped her fingers. “How silly not to think of it sooner.”
 

“
Think of what?”
 

“
They knew you and Jack would be blamed. Either you or Jack mentioned that in your search to find Dark Moon that you’d run into a hunting party. When they returned to their tribe—”
 

“
They found their opportunity to blame it on someone from our fort,” Gray finished with her, a stoic expression on his face.
 

Michaela got up to flip their beefsteaks. When she sat back down, Gray still looked to be lost in thought. She hid her smile. “You know, you could have saved yourself a lot of time spent worrying about this had you just talked to me sooner.”

He couldn’t argue with that.

Gray awoke the next morning earlier than he could remember waking in a long time. Michaela’s words had made a lot of sense. And not just her theory on what happened with Soft Dove. Had he spoken to her sooner and talked things out, he’d have had an easier time of it these past days.

But there was still one niggle. Why had Jacobs sought him out to speak to him that day he’d walked in on Mrs. Ridgely and now he didn’t want to be within fifteen feet of Gray? Today was his day off and anything short of a colossal injury to either of them, Gray intended to seek the man out and get some sort of answer from him.

As quietly as he could, Gray built a small fire and placed the small iron water pot on top of it. Michaela had a cup of coffee waiting for him every morning when he woke. Today he’d like to do the same for her. It wasn’t much, but it was the least he could do to start showing his appreciation for everything she’d done for him.

“
Do you prefer apples or pears?” he asked when she sat up.
 

Michaela stared at him as if he’d just grown a second head. “For what?”

“
To eat. I don’t have to work today so I thought we’d have breakfast before you go over to spend the day with Mrs. Lewis.”
 

“
Oh.” She climbed out of bed and joined him at the table. She picked up the green pear in the center of the table and took a bite. “Will I see you before the rounders game?”
 

“
Probably not.” He poured more coffee into his cup to keep his attention on anything other than the way Michaela’s nightgown clung to her womanly curves. Usually by the time he got up, she was already dressed for the day. “I don’t think I’ll be playing today. I have a few errands.”
 

“
Errands?”
 

“
Errands.”
 

A shadow passed over her face, but was gone a second later. “I suppose I’ll bake a few pies today.” She took another bite. “I do feel bad for having my father over the other night only to serve him his least favorite meal and be sent home without dessert.”

“
Are you always this thoughtful to those you think you’ve done wrong?”
 

“
No. Just those I love.”
 

***

Gray tamped down the tinge of guilt he had about leaving Michaela to her own devices while he went in search of Jacobs. As soon as he spoke with the man he’d let it be. In his mind he realized that Jacobs likely only wanted Gray to get him out of working at the new barracks. But it was the unsettling feeling of how the man treated Gray now that he, too, was working down there.

It had been three hours since he’d begun his search for Jacobs and still nothing. He might have to go to the rounders game later today after all. Surely Jacobs would be there for that. To miss it would be unheard of.

He rounded the stables and froze.

Not ten feet away stood Jack and Ella and Michaela.

“
You’ll like Sundance,” Jack said to Michaela, leading a tall chestnut mare toward her. “She’s a sweet horse.”
 

Michaela looked panicked. “No. I don’t think I will.”

“
Are you sure? She’s very gentle.” He lifted his hand and rubbed the horse’s nose with his knuckles. “See, she won’t hurt you.”
 

Michaela shook her head.

Jack cast a fleeting glance to Ella who bit her lip. “She’s afraid of horses.”

“
Yes, I can see that,” Jack agreed. He turned back to Michaela. “You don’t have to be afraid of this one. She wouldn’t hurt anybody.”
 

“
I have an idea,” Ella said. “Why don’t I ride Pablo by myself and the two of you can ride on Sundance?”
 

Gray wasn’t sure who looked more horrified at the suggestion: Jack, Michaela or possibly himself.

Michaela said something in response, but Gray couldn’t hear her over the blood thundering in his ears. Jack and Michaela share a horse. Absolutely not! Michaela was
his
wife—if anyone was to be sharing a horse with her, it’d be him.
 

Without realizing it, his feet had carried him over to the trio and before he knew what he was saying or had given it enough thought to make it coherent, said, “Thank you for offering to take Michaela with you on your ride, but she has other plans.” He leveled a stare on Jack and took Sundance’s reins from his friend. “With me.”

“
I thought you had errands,” Michaela said bluntly after Jack and Ella mounted the horse they shared and were out of earshot.
 

“
I do and one is to take my wife on a horse ride.”
 

“
But I don’t like horses,” she protested.
 

He laughed. “You might have fooled them, but I remember you being quite content to being atop a horse.”

“
That was before I fell.”
 

His grin faded. “You fell? When?”

 “
The night I fled the brothel.”
 

All humor fled from him in that instant and his muscles grew tense. “Have you not been on one at all since then?”

“
No.”
 

He cleared his throat. “Would you like to try?”

***

No! No! No!
“I don’t think so.”
 

“
Are you sure?”
 

She was sure. Being carelessly thrown off and left unconscious on the cold ground after hitting her head on a rock, made her more than sure she didn’t wish to get on a horse.

“
Come here,” he commanded gently.
 

She took a step backwards.

The corner of his lips tipped up and he reached for her hand. “Just touch her.”

She yanked her hand away. “I can’t.”

“
Yes, you can.” His voice was soft and soothing. He reached for her trembling hand. “Just touch her hair.”
 

Michaela curled her fingers in, but couldn’t pull her hand from his firm grasp.

“
I’m not going to hurt you, Michaela, and neither is Sundance.” He moved her hand closer to the horse, panic building in her chest. “Just touch her nose.”
 

“
If I touch her will you take me back?”
 

“
Take you back where?”
 

“
To my father’s room?”
 

He knit his brows. “Why would you go there?”

“
Aunt Lucille has a terrible stomach ailment and wanted a bit of privacy. Wes and Allison are off together somewhere. Sarah Ridgely and I aren’t speaking much these days, so I didn’t want to go over there. That only left going home or going to see my father. I was on my way to the barracks when I ran into Jack and Ella and they invited me to spend the rest of the morning with them.”
 

“
And what of me?”
 

“
What about you? You said you didn’t have time—” She broke off. “If I touch her, will you let me go, please?”
 

Wordlessly, Gray brought her ungloved hand closer to the horse.

Tension knotted every muscle in her body. She knew it wasn’t this particular horse that’d thrown her, but there wasn’t room for logic in her mind right now. Not when her knuckles were inching ever closer to the brute. “Please, Gray.”

Gray remained quiet as he touched her knuckles to the soft hair on Sundance’s nose. “See, she’s not so bad.”

Michaela went numb.

“
Touch her with your fingertips,” Gray murmured. When she didn’t move to unfurl her fingers, Gray reached up the hand that held the reins and started to pry her fingers out of the fist she held. “See? She’s a sweet girl.” He moved her hand to where her entire palm was flat against Sundance.
 

Michaela opened and closed her mouth, but no words would come out.

“
Rub up between her ears,” he encouraged.
 

She let out a barely audible squeak.

He seemed unaffected and glided her hand first up between Sundance’s ears, then to her mane and along her neck. “Are you ready to put your other hand on her, too?”

“
No,” Michaela croaked.
 

“
She won’t hurt you,” Gray reminded her. He moved so he was standing between her and Sundance’s legs. “I want you to trust her, that’s all.”
 

Reluctantly, she lifted her other hand up to rub Sundance’s side. Jack had put a saddle on her earlier—not that Michaela had any inclination to ride her.

“
How did you fall?”
 

“
He bucked,” Michaela choked.
 

“
Were you hurt or just startled?”
 

“
Both.”
 

He guided her hands along Sundance’s side. “Did you steal a horse, Michaela,” he asked with a devilish grin.

“
No. Why would I have done that?”
 

“
To escape your father.” He laughed at her telling expression. That was exactly what she was doing. She was so upset at Gray leaving her side that night the last thing she wanted to do was be scolded by her father so she’d run from the brothel, grabbed the horse she and Gray and ridden earlier and made for the fort. “I don’t imagine a military horse would have spooked like that,” Gray continued. “They’re around all those guns and cannons and such.”
 

“
Guns and cannons are no comparison to a sobbing, heartbroken young lady,” she said, forcing a
wobbly smile. “I likely gave poor Abbacus the scare of his life.”
 

“
Or annoyed him,” Gray retorted.
 

She choked on a giggle. “That’s likely.”

Gray finished making her touch every inch of horseflesh on this side of Sundance, then slowly removed her hands. She wondered if he planned to make her do the same on the other side. Surely if he’d meant to continue torturing her, he’d have just had her continue on once she reached the horse’s rump.

“
How about if you try getting on her now?”
 

Michaela gaped at him. “How about if you spend the afternoon in a corset and petticoats?”

“
Oh, it can’t be
that
bad. By your own admission, it’s horses who should be scared of you, not you scared of them.”
 

She crossed her arms and glared at him.

“
Come now, you know as well as I do that she’s not scared of you.” He placed his hand on the small of her back, a gesture that nearly dissolved her. “I’ll be right here. Nothing will happen.”
 

“
You’re right nothing will happen, I’m not getting on Sundance.”
 

“
Please?”
 

“
No.”
 

He gently massaged her lower back. “What will it take to get you to try? A new gown?”

“
Are you going to sew it?”
 

“
I could if you wanted me to.”
 

She sputtered with laughter. “And would I want you to make it? Other than for the entertainment of watching you do it, that is.”

“
That depends. Can you fashion a tablecloth to fit like a skirt?”
 

“
No, but I’m sure Allison can.”
 

“
I’m sure she can, too.” He urged her to take a step forward. “No need to worry though—my skills are better than Allison’s.”
 

Michaela wouldn’t be so rude as to voice it aloud, but she had a suspicion that just about anyone’s skills with a needle and thread were superior to Allison’s.

“
And—” he put his hands on her waist— “I’m fairly confident that I can out-sew your sister, too.”
 

She didn’t believe that for a second, but all possibility of saying so dissolved when Gray lifted her up and put her on top of Sundance in one quick, fluid motion.

Terror came over her. Involuntarily, she made a strangled shriek as she bent forward to lower her face as close to the horse’s neck as possible and wiggle down.

“
Be still,” Gray said soothingly. He placed one strong hand on her back and the other rubbing Sundance’s neck. “Stop fidgeting before you fall.”