Yellowstone Romance Series - Bundle (# 2-5) (25 page)

“How did you destroy the device?” Chase asked slowly.

“It’s not exactly destroyed.” Sarah heard the hesitation in her mother’s voice. Her eyes darted to Chase. The hopeful look on his face made her bite back fresh tears. He was intent on finding a way home. Sarah stood abruptly from the table. She glared at him in silence, then turned and headed out the door, pausing to dare her father to block her way. He stood with his arms folded across his chest, his face unreadable. He didn’t stop her from leaving.

*****

Every nerve cell in Chase’s body screamed at him to go after her. The high he’d been on since yesterday evening when he confessed his love to her came crashing down worse than a nasty hangover. Why did it have to be so short-lived? Not even twenty-four hours of happiness with Sarah, and his world crumbled. He rubbed the back of his neck, and glanced up at Aimee. She was watching him with knowing eyes. Chase hadn’t even noticed that Daniel had moved to stand behind his wife. The man moved as silently as a church mouse. He suddenly felt small, sitting at the table while this fierce woodsman glared down at him.

“You have feelings for my daughter.” It wasn’t a question. The man’s stare was unnerving, his voice low and even.

Chase swallowed. “Yes, sir,” he finally said, taking a deep breath.

“Have you acted on those feelings?” His eyes narrowed.

That depends . . .
“No, sir.”

Suddenly, being tied up in the middle of a village of hostile Indians didn’t seem so daunting anymore.  No wonder the Blackfoot left this man alone. He would kill them with his stare alone.

“Good. And you never will. It is not possible for you to remain here.” Daniel moved away from the table. Sarah’s mother sat quietly, her eyes darting back and forth between him and her husband.

“I will go in search of the time travel device,” Daniel spoke again. “You will return to your time.” There was a definite finality in his tone.

It’s what you wanted all this time, Russell.

Sarah’s father made it plain that he didn’t think he was good enough for his daughter. Chase knew he was right.

Aimee Osborne cleared her throat. She stood, and pushed her chair away from the table.

“Daniel. A word with you, please,” she said, facing her husband. Chase had to smile to himself. This little woman seemed to be the only person who didn’t cower in front of Daniel Osborne. He could see where Sarah got her feistiness.

“I . . . ah . . . I’ll just go outside, then,” Chase ran his hand up and down the back of his neck, and stood. He was anxious to find Sarah and talk to her.

“You will remain here.” Daniel shot him a dark glare that dared him to challenge his authority. He left the cabin. Aimee smiled tentatively at him, then followed her husband out the door.

Chapter 26

Aimee inhaled deeply, and stepped out of the cabin. She quietly closed the door behind her, and scanned the meadow. There was no need, really. She knew Daniel would be down by the river. Whenever he had something on his mind that required alone time, that’s where he went. She smiled softly. Sure enough, her husband stood at the riverbank, looking beyond the Madison. Aimee wasted no time, and hurried to his side.  She reached up and placed her hand on Daniel’s shoulder.

“Weren’t you a bit harsh?” she asked gently. Daniel was usually reserved and quiet, and he never passed judgment in haste. He turned to face her, his eyebrows raised in a silent question.

“He’s confused, Daniel. He was thrown back here without his knowledge, to a time and place he’s completely unfamiliar with, and—”

“Exactly,” Daniel interrupted her, his voice firm. “That’s why he needs to go back to his time as quickly as possible.”  He avoided her eyes, and focused on something along the opposite riverbank.

“He’s in love with Sarah,” Aimee said softly.  How well she understood that feeling.

“I can see that,” Daniel’s voice raised uncharacteristically.  His body tensed, and he continued to stare off into the distance. Aimee moved in front of him. She wasn’t tall enough to obstruct his view, so she wound her arms around his neck and pulled his face down to meet her gaze.  Still tense, his arms wrapped around her waist.

“And she’s in love with him,” Aimee added, staring into his dark eyes.

Daniel’s jaw clenched and unclenched.

“You know it’s going to be near impossible to find that time travel device. It’s been twenty-five years. We never thought we’d use it again, remember? That’s why we disposed of it the way we did. What happens if you can’t find it?” She wrapped her fingers around some strand of hair at his nape, and one hand caressed his jaw. His tension eased, but only slightly.

Daniel didn’t answer. He moved his hands away from her waist, and took a step back. She dropped her arms. Daniel had his stubborn moments, but she usually succeeded in swaying him to see reason.  He turned away from her and walked along the riverbank. She followed, and slipped her hand in his. Finally, he gave it a tight squeeze.  It was a start. At least he wasn’t shutting her out completely, and there were things that needed to be said. Aimee had her suspicions for the cause of his behavior, and it was best all brought out now.

“You have to teach him,” she said, pulling him to a stop. He turned, and stared down at her. She almost laughed. He looked at her in stunned silence, much like the man she fell in love with twenty-five years ago, when she proposed the same challenge.
“If you think you know everything, then why don’t you teach me?”

“He needs to return to his time,” Daniel stated adamantly.  The gentle afternoon breeze lifted Daniel’s hair from his neck.

“He needs to learn to survive here, in case he can’t go back,” she argued.

“Impossible.” He shook his head.

“Why?” Aimee glared at him, and threw her free hand in the air. “You taught me. You taught our children.”

“That’s different,” he said quickly.  He looked past her shoulders into the distance. What was he thinking? Did he remember standing along this path so many years ago, when she had dared him to teach her to survive here? 

“How so? How is it different?”

“A man needs to be able to protect his family, and provide for them. This young buck can do neither.” He gestured with his chin towards the cabin.

“That’s why you need to teach him.”  Why couldn’t he see the logic here?

Daniel released Aimee’s hand, and ran it through his tousled hair. He inhaled deeply before he spoke again. “Hawk Soaring came to me, before we left for rendezvous. He has asked for Sarah.”

Aimee tilted her head at him and studied his face.  “And what did you tell him, Daniel? You could never give your daughter in marriage to someone she doesn’t want.”

“Perhaps I will. He is a good man. He will be a good provider.”

Aimee laughed.  “I know she and Hawk Soaring have been friends, but has she ever said she is interested in him as a potential husband?”

Daniel didn’t answer. The scowl on his face sent most men into hiding.

“You want to know what I think?” Unperturbed by his dark look, she stood to face him and put her hand on his chest.

Daniel’s scowl turned into a frown, and he inhaled sharply. His lips were drawn in a tight line.  “No, but I’m sure you will tell me anyways,” he growled.

“I think you are afraid to lose your little girl . . .  to any man.”

Daniel avoided her eyes. She reached up and cupped his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. “Teach him. He might surprise you. I’m sure you noticed the tattoo on his chest.” She waited for his response.

Daniel scoffed. “He can’t be the man we’ve heard about. A man completely out of his element, defeating an entire village of Blackfoot? Impossible.”

“So the obvious explanation is that there has to be another white man in these mountains somewhere with that kind of tattoo. Is that what you’re saying?” She laughed before her face grew serious again. “Daniel, he looks highly capable to me. He might be out of his element, but he’s had certain training in his own time that requires similar skills that are needed to survive here.”

Daniel sighed, and stared intently at her. Had he forgotten all the pain and anguish they both endured when they were torn apart from each other all those years ago? Surely he could see that his daughter loved this man. And by the look on Chase’s face, he was deeply in love with her.

There was a difference, however, Aimee had to concede. Chase seemed to want to return to the future. Aimee remembered how she had fought against being returned to 2010. She had wanted to remain here. She was told she’d be time traveling to the past. It was still a mystery to her how Chase had ended up here.

Chase was a confused young man. He needed more time to figure out exactly what was important to him. From what he had told her so far, he had made some bad choices and gotten into a lot of trouble. Maybe he just needed to see that he could make a fresh start here.

Aimee had liked him immediately. She could tell he was torn between his love for Sarah, and for feeling out of place here. That seemed to be the only reason he’d want to return home. If he got a good foothold here, learned about the mountains and how to survive, he would see that this was where he could truly become a man.

All he needed was the confidence, the belief in himself, to survive on his own, which he seemed to lack. Besting a village of Blackfoot didn’t come by sheer luck. Daniel had been ambushed, and nearly died at the hands of a war party twenty five years ago. If he’d been taken hostage instead, and given the same chance that Chase had been given, could her own husband have accomplished such a feat when he was that age?

Daniel pulled her in his arms and kissed her. “I will teach him. But, I do so only because you ask.”

Aimee wound her arms around his neck. “Your daughter will thank you for it,” she smiled into his warm eyes.

“I still plan to search for the snake head,” Daniel said sternly. “In the meantime, I will do as you wish. But he cannot sleep in our house any longer. He will move to the old cabin.”

Aimee nodded in agreement. “When do you plan to look for the device? We have lots to do here.”

“I will decide when the time is right. We’ve just returned home.”

“You’d best go unpack the horses. Those poor things are still standing around with their loads. I think I need to find our daughter and have a woman to woman talk with her.”

“When has our daughter become a woman,” he mumbled. Aimee smiled at the frown on her husband’s face.  “Ask Chase to help you with the horses,” she called over her shoulder as she walked away.

She found Sarah sitting on a downed log on the rise behind the cabin. The area was concealed by lodgepoles, yet provided a panoramic view of the valley. Sarah’s shoulders slumped, and she stared at her hands in her lap.

“Can I sit with you?” Aimee asked quietly. Sarah’s tear stained face tore at her heart. She remembered that feeling of losing the man she loved all too well. For a young woman, it was a devastating feeling. Sarah nodded, and Aimee sat down next to her.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, wrapping her arm around Sarah’s shoulder. Her daughter’s body shuddered when she took in a deep breath.

“Why does he say he loves me, but wants to go home?” Sarah sobbed.

Aimee closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “It’s complicated for him, Sarah. He comes from a world that is very different from here. He doesn’t know how he fits in.”

“But you wanted to stay here with Papa. How did you fit in?”

“I sort of knew what I was getting into when I got sent here. I wanted to be here. Chase has no prior experience with the wilderness. He told me he’s never been away from the city in his time, until he came to this area shortly before he was sent back in time.”

“He has no confidence in his abilities, Mama.” Sarah wiped her face on her sleeve, and sniffed. “You should see him.  He throws a tomahawk as good as Papa, and he defeated twenty Blackfoot warriors, but he still doesn’t believe he can survive here.”

“Right now, I’m sure all he remembers is what a struggle it was to defeat those warriors. He can’t see it for the accomplishment it truly is.” She chuckled. “Perhaps he thinks it is a common thing for a man in this time to run barefoot and nude over mountainous terrain for the many miles he covered.”

Sarah stared at her. “I told him I’d never heard of anyone accomplishing such a feat.”

“He must have been hurt badly during that ordeal.” Aimee’s face grew serious.

“He could barely walk. He was feverish for days. I thought he would die.” Fresh tears pooled in her daughter’s eyes.

“I’m proud of you, Sarah.” Aimee rested a hand on Sarah’s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.  “Your healing skills are getting very good.” After a moment’s silence, she added, “I asked your father to teach him.”

Sarah’s face lit up, then the smile froze. “Papa doesn’t seem to like him very much.”

Aimee smiled smugly. “Your father needs to come to terms with a few things. He’ll warm up to him.”

“Why didn’t he tell me that Hawk Soaring spoke to him before rendezvous?”

“You know about that?” Aimee raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“I found out when I tended to Snow Bird. She has a healthy son.”

Aimee nodded.  She looked down into the valley from their perch high above. Chase emerged from the cabin behind Daniel. The two walked to where the horses were tethered by the woodpile. Daniel appeared to be instructing him what to do.  He’d always been a patient teacher. She hoped he wouldn’t deviate from his ways with his newest pupil.

“Looks like they’re getting along just fine,” Aimee said cheerfully, pointing towards the cabin. Sarah watched in silence. Her shoulders slumped forward, and she twisted a blade of grass between her fingers. There was no hint of joy on her face.

“Your father can’t see you as a grown woman yet, Sarah. It’s hard for him. In his eyes, he still sees the little girl who fell asleep on his lap every night. It’s hard for him to give you over to another man. I think Hawk Soaring’s request took him by surprise. Imagine his shock now.” Aimee laughed. “He comes home, and the last thing he expects to find is a man in the house who is obviously quite taken with you. And you with him. And,” she paused and leaned forward to see her daughter’s face, “we never expected to have this time travel device come up again. That was something we’ve both put behind us.”

Sarah stared into the valley, her eyes trained on the man unloading blankets and furs off one of the horses. Her hand plucked at some grasses in the dirt.