Comanche Haven (The Loflin Legacy: Book 1) (8 page)

“
What does Lone Eagle want?”
Seth’s question held uneasiness.

Celia paused before answering. She
considered Seth. Surely, she had seen genuine concern in his
features a moment ago. Otherwise, why would he be taking her back
himself? He could just as easily have sent one of his men with her.
The fact remained he was a rancher, a white man. Those facts
automatically made him the enemy of her father’s people. Seth could
no more side with Lone Eagle and the Comanche than he could stop
breathing. Yet here he was risking his life and reputation to see
her safely back to her father. Something inside her gently tripped.
It was enough for the time being she saw disquiet on his face. “He
wants peace.” She purposely softened her words. “He wants the white
man to leave the Comanche in peace.”

Seth faced straight ahead, as he
listened. “Don’t we all,” he said dryly.

She glanced over and then dropped her
lashes before she uttered the next words. “I didn’t tell you
everything.”

His gaze narrowed on her. “What do you
mean?” Doubt appeared in his eyes. Could it be that time had caused
him not to trust the Comanche or the woman? She didn’t know which.
“Broken Horse asked me to come back because Lone Eagle is
dying.”

“
Dying? From what?” Seth’s
scowl was deep.

Celia knew Seth cared for her father.
“They don’t know. I hope I can help him.” Her voice cracked and she
dropped her head to hide the pain.

Seth continued to stare deep into the
fire for a long time. “You mentioned you’d been trained as a
healer. How?”

Celia shook her head. “My grandmother
learned the art of healing from the Shaman. You knew
that.

He nodded affirmatively.

“
With what she taught me, I
then gained as much knowledge as possible at school. I took
grandmother’s natural remedies and combined them with wound care
and healing at the hospital.”

“
You went back east to your
mother’s people, right?”

“
Yes.”

“
After you left for West
Point, there was trouble and Lone Eagle feared for my safety. With
Broken Horse’s help, Lone Eagle put me on a stage back east.” Celia
laughed thinly. “Though she paid for my ticket, my grandmother
wasn’t happy to see me. Then the members of Charleston society
weren’t exactly pleased to share in my company either. So rather
than turn out her only granddaughter to the streets which would’ve
been a scandal in itself, she sent me to finishing school.” Celia
paused a long moment as she watched the flames dance in the fire.
Straightening her spine, she continued, “I graduated with honors
and afterward applied to the hospital at Fort Sumter. It took me
seven years to work my way up from ward maid to a position as a
surgical assistant or nurse as some call the job.”

“
That’s wonderful.” Sarcasm
oozed from each word. “I’m glad to finally know what happened to
you. Since you got an education, why couldn’t you write?” He glared
at her with reproachful eyes.

His words stung. Celia steeled her
composure. Inwardly, she tamped down the urge to lash out. “I tried
to contact you. I wrote letter after letter, but they were all
returned.”

“
Letters?” His brow rose
incredulously.

“
Yes, I wrote every week
once I learned how. I even saved up and telegraphed
you.”

Seth cut her a disbelieving look.
“Uh-huh.”

Celia gritted her teeth. “I’m telling
the truth, Seth. My letters were returned unopened. I thought…I
thought you…What was I to believe?” Celia’s brow creased in
frustration. “No word from you other than a bunch of unopened
letters stuffed in a box with no explanation or reply included. I
thought you didn’t want me anymore. Besides, it looked as though
you’d moved on. I blamed you though I knew better.”

“
Yeah, moved on,” Seth
repeated to no one in particular.

Despite the tone of his words, Celia
felt a burning need to defend herself. “I didn’t know what to
think. I had only the unopened letters.”

Cool and smooth without missing a beat,
Seth glared at her. “I never got any damn letters.”

It took her a minute, to process that
new information. Celia snapped back quickly though, “Oh, yes, well
how convenient you never received them.” She wanted to hurt him.
How was she going to believe him when she still didn’t know if he
was an outlaw or not? It was becoming harder and harder to sit
still. Her breath came out in a huff. “Are you trying to say it was
my fault I never heard from you?”

“
How was I supposed to get
in touch with you when you disappeared? I couldn’t find a soul who
could tell me what had happened to you, Celia!” Seth dropped his
head toward the fire. “If they did, they wouldn’t tell me,” he
muttered tersely.

Celia could tell he was angry. She said
no more. What could she say? That Seth’s father had banished them
from the land surrounding the ranch. Or he’d threatened killing all
of her people if they didn’t leave for good. That Earl Loflin had
accused her of murder. No, despite what he thought, Celia refused
to torture Seth with those facts. “I tried to make the best of
things. With no word from you, I had nothing else to believe.”
Celia winched inwardly. Nothing else – that’s what she’d ended up
with. The education, the caring for others was all she’d had on
those lonely nights to keep her warm. Celia shook her head. She
wouldn’t look back, she couldn’t.

“
Who’s waiting on you back
there, Celia?” The question was curt and edged with
anger.

Celia glanced at the smoldering temper
in his face and understanding his meaning, looked away quickly. “No
one.”

Silence filled the air as they both
continued to stare into the fire.

Seth rose and threw the stick he’d been
poking the fire with into the flames. “Get some sleep. We’ll be
leaving early,” he snapped. He turned his back to her and returned
to his side of the fire.

Forcing guilt mingled with pain to the
back of her mind, Celia unrolled the bedding and prepared to get
ready to try to sleep. Lying there, Celia glanced across the fire
at her white knight. He lay with his back to her. Their
conversation hadn’t turned out like she’d planned. Sighing, Celia
turned her back to the fire as well.

Her thoughts drifted back to that
summer long ago.

“
Father, why? Why must I go?
I want to stay with you…”

“
Celia, my child, time will
answer all your questions. Remember who you are.”

Remember who you are. In the world of
the Comanche, she was Little One and the only child of Lone Eagle,
the great chief.

It was only when she came to know her
mother’s people, she learned how little the white man thought of
the Comanche.

***

Seth shook with the chill of it. He
wasn’t quite sure whether it was the cool night air or the dream,
which had him shaking, but he didn’t like it. How long had he
slept? The dream had him waking with a jolt. It had been a while
since he’d had the dream. Renewed frustration burned inside him and
he ran a hand over his face. Groaning, he rolled up to his elbow
and wiped at the sweat beading on his forehead. With jerky fingers,
he combed through hair he’d already set on end as he tried in vain
to shake the remnants of the nightmare. Soon he found himself on
the other side of the fire, watching her. The flames had died low
to simmering embers, which danced and cast shadows on the
ground.

Celia lay on her back, one arm flung
over her head in relaxed sleep. She resembled an angel with her
hair splayed over the bedroll, the moon glinting off it like
stardust. Jesus, he didn’t need these feelings now!

He kept circling back to the fact she
was part of what most people considered the enemy. Here in Texas,
she would be seen as nothing more than a half-breed and wouldn’t be
safe. If it weren’t the settlers’ attitudes toward Indians, it
would be the Texas Rangers interference, but she would be in danger
because of the color of her skin alone.

If she was telling the truth, then
someone had returned her letters without his knowledge. Who could
have been so manipulative? When the night refused to give up any
answers to his questions, he padded silently back to his side of
the fire. The scent of her still lingered on him. Seth cursed under
his breath as he punched his bedroll in an attempt at
submission.

Lying very still, Seth tried to quiet
his mind. The stars, the same ones they’d laid under so long ago
gleamed like jewels in the ink black sky. Seth couldn’t help but
brood. He could still remember their first kiss so long ago, and
how Celia had raised her beautiful chin, gazing at him with such
trust and innocence. Her face was in his hands before he’d realized
it. Gently, he brushed his thumb across her lips. Lowering his
head, he hesitated just a moment and then his lips took hers. They
were so soft. She felt warm and pliant in his arms. He could feel
the yielding of her young body, and the rush of blood to his loins.
It was his intention to kiss her but the desire, which washed over
him, was staggering. He felt as if he were drowning. She sighed,
and he covered her mouth with his once more and breathed her
in.

If he had only known how the kiss would
affect him, maybe he wouldn’t have shared the moment with her. On
the other hand, maybe if he’d have bucked his father, and remained
in Texas, he’d have made her his wife. It wasn’t long before he
left for West Point. Time passed and when he returned home, Celia,
Lone Eagle, along with the whole Comanche tribe were gone. He
searched everywhere. She disappeared without a trace.

Now, here she was, and she needed him.
The trouble between their people hadn’t changed a bit. Then there
were the deep-rooted feelings he still harbored for her.

***

They both woke before dawn. Celia
shifted on her pallet and surveyed her surroundings. The fire had
gone out somewhere in the night. The morning dawned cold. Grateful
for the warmth of Seth’s blanket, Celia clutched the folds close
and watched as Seth gathered wood for a new fire.

Soon he had coffee going.

She rose to check on Broken Horse. Her
cousin had a steady heart rate and his pupils were normal. The blow
to his head was seeping. Celia tore a bandage from her pantalets
and replaced the one on his head.

“
How is he?” Seth’s voice
came from behind her.

“
His vital signs are stable.
The wound is still seeping. I wish I had some herbs for a poultice.
Other than the threat of infection, he is doing well. The blow to
the head is why he still sleeps.” She turned and glanced up at
Seth, who stood holding a cup of coffee for her.

“
Thank you.” She stood and
took the cup. The first sip tasted good. There was always something
about Seth’s camp coffee.

“
I’ve got breakfast going.
You’ll need to eat.” Seth turned back to a black skillet over the
fire.

Celia watched him and couldn’t help
herself. “After our conversation last night, I thought you’d be
ready to get rid of the likes of me.” Her smile was woven with
light sarcasm and Celia couldn’t help the slight salute she gave
him with her cup. “Your camp coffee always was the best.” When he
flicked a glance at her, she gave him a weak smile. “I’ll tolerate
you if I can have another cup of your coffee.”

“
After our conversation last
night, I would have thought you would want nothing more to do with
me either.” He smiled weakly with his comeback. “Yet, you sit here
drinking my coffee and eating my biscuits. A man’s gotta wonder
what you’re up to.” His eyes remained hooded under the Stetson, but
Celia saw his square jaw clinch.

“
Rest assured sir, I don’t
intend to run away if that’s what you’re thinking.” She smiled
primly.

“
Where would I get an idea
like that?”

Seth’s smirk reminded her of the boy
she’d loved once upon a time. The pure mischief in his look struck
a chord with her. Celia made sure sincerity laced her next words,
“I haven’t thanked you for saving us. Thank-you, Seth. We are in
your dept.”

He glanced up at her. “You don’t owe me
anything.” He waved the knife he was using as a cooking tool in her
direction as he clarified, “You just about had those two outlaws
under control. If I’d been just a couple of minutes later, I’d have
got to help you tie them up.” He winked and then bit into his
biscuit.

Celia laughed.

“
You should do that more
often.”

“
What?” Celia looked
quizzically at him.

“
Laugh, it sounds good on
you.”

Caught off guard and without a retort,
Celia concentrated on her own meal. She reminded herself he was
simply being kind because she was in need – nothing more. And
whatever she saw in his eyes in those fleeting moments down by the
creek were just her imagination.

“
Look. I’m gonna take you
back to Lone Eagle. The way I see it, we need to at least be civil
to one another, okay?” He busied himself with scooping up hardtack
and offered her a small tin plate.

“
Okay.” Celia nodded. She
sat up under the blanket and pulled her knees towards her chest.
What he said made sense even if it wasn’t exactly what she wanted
to hear.