Dorothy Garlock (21 page)

“You should have gloves,” he murmured. “I’ve got a leather pair in my pack. They’ll be too big, but better than nothing.”

“What I need is another bath,” she said, watching his finger slide over her palm. Her eyes flew to his and a surge of hot blood flooded her face. He was thinking of her standing naked beside the stream!

“I’ll not say I didn’t see you,” he said with a laughing glint in his eyes. “I saw a lovely wood nymph come up out of the water and it was worth everything I’ve endured since I came West.” His smile broadened when a new wave of color tinged her cheeks. “You’re even prettier when you’re embarrassed.”

“Logan!” She expected to feel mortified, and was surprised that she was only mildly embarrassed. “You were . . . watching me!”

“Uh-huh. But I was watching for the cat, too,” he said with a chuckle. His amusement at her self-consciousness was something he did not try to hide.

“I should be mad at you!” A faint, tingling thrill passed through her and laid its fleeting change across her face. Her laugh was free and warm. “But how can I be, when you saved my life?”

“In some parts of the world, when you save a life, that person belongs to you, body and soul.” The serious words caught her off guard.

“Is that so?” She was almost incapable of coherent speech or thought, conscious only that her hands were still clasped in his and that he was looking down at her through half-closed lids.

“Do you know what that means?”

“That you own me?”

“And you me.”

“But . . . I didn’t save
your
life,” she protested huskily. “Mary did.”

“I doubt that Shorty Banes would have killed me, although I probably would have wished that he had. Clayhill
meant
to kill me, still means to.”

“I don’t want to think about that.” She pulled her hands from his and turned away only to turn back with a glowing smile on her face. “I forgot to tell you . . . the pool I bathed in was
hot
! I’m sure the hot spring Case told us about is in the larger pool above. It’s on your land, Logan! If you build your house near it you can pipe hot water to the house! I’ve heard it can be done.”

His smile answered the radiance on her face and not the news she gave him. He thought, as he feasted his eyes on her, that this was no coy miss who used flirtatious guile on a man. She was a woman, with all the feminine instincts, but open and natural with her feelings. He had seen more beautiful women, but none that had the inner glow of this lovely creature.

“Rosalee, Rosalee . . .” Her name came from his lips like a caress. He laughed. It wasn’t a chuckle, but a real laugh. “I’ll never be able to keep you away from that pool, now!”

She laughed with him, scarcely aware of anything but the big, dark man smiling down at her. Her eyes slid over his relaxed features, his smiling eyes, his tall, loose frame. Her heart began to pound with a new rhythm as they hungrily eyed each other.

“I wish you could soak in it, Logan. It would heal your poor back and take the soreness out of your . . . arms and . . . legs.” She finished with a strange tremor in her voice.

“I’d like that, but it’s a luxury I can’t afford right now.” He rubbed his fingers over the stubble on his chin. “I’d like a shave, but that’s got to wait, too.”

“I used to shave my papa,” she whispered between spasmic breaths.

“I keep a sharp razor. I’d have to make certain you’re not mad at me before I turn you loose with it.” His eyes teased her.

Rosalee was agonizingly aware of the man at her side during the long silence that ensued, and finally said the first thing that came to her mind. “Do you think they’ll come tonight?”

“If they do, it’ll be before dark. I don’t think they’re foolhardy enough to wander around in the dark looking for an Indian.” His slow smile drew little wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and she knew he spoke half in jest, half in earnest. Almost imperceptibly, the look on her face altered, leaving it creased with a worried frown.

“Oh, Logan! I don’t want you killed! Give up your claim to this land and ride away.”

“I’ll not be driven off my land like Clayhill drove the Cheyenne off theirs. This time it will be an Indian who will do the driving out.” He took a slow breath, wanting to make things clear to her. “I paid out good money for this land. My title will be watertight once the deed is recorded in Denver.” His voice softened. “Don’t worry, little Rosalee. I can back up my stand.”

“But how? You’re only one man against many.”

“One small hole in a dike will grow bigger until the dike crumbles. Clayhill has had things his way long enough. I intend to be the small hole that causes his downfall.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “You shouldn’t be here. If Malone doesn’t come tomorrow or the next day, I’ve got to figure out a way to get you to Mrs. Gregg.”

His dark gaze searched her blue-green, distressed eyes. She was as full of pain as he. A sense of helplessness threatened to destroy his determination to keep distance between them. He stared gravely at her for a long moment, then let his hard-held breath out like a sigh and his hold tightened painfully.

“There’s only a couple of hours of daylight left. If they don’t come through the opening by dark we’re reasonably safe until morning. When the moon comes up we’ll walk down to your pool. It may be the last chance we’ll have for awhile.”

Her face brightened. “The warm water will help your back and your sore muscles. I know it will!”

That brought a slow smile to his lips. “Then you’d better get me something to eat so I don’t keel over on the way,” he drawled.

*  *  *

Darkness came and, shortly after, a half moon rose above the cliffs. Logan rose stiffly from his vigil at the end of the ledge where Rosalee had brought him a hearty meal of fried, smoked meat, pan gravy, bread and strong coffee. Together they led the horses to the grassland below and staked them out so they could eat during the night hours.

Rosalee insisted he stay below while she returned to the room to get her soap and clean dress. She took a clean shirt from Logan’s pack and held it to her cheek for a moment before she ran lightly down the ramp to where he waited.

Constantly alert, he paused to look and listen before he took her hand and they walked down through the willows toward the stream. This new intimacy with Logan was like heady wine to Rosalee. They seemed to know each other’s needs, read each other’s thoughts. He didn’t have to say, “take the rifle”; she automatically reached for it and held it while he led the bay team to the stream to drink. She helped him move them deeper into the willows.

They walked, side by side, up the path toward the pool. The sky was clear and stars blossomed overhead. An owl hooted, bull frogs croaked in the backwater of the stream, and far away the faint sound of a lonesome coyote reached them. Rosalee banished all troubled thoughts from her mind and gave herself up to the enjoyment of being with the man with whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life. Her mother had said that when she met her true love she would know him. She thought happily that her mother, wherever she was, could look down and know that she’d found him. Once she stumbled on the uneven ground and Logan took her hand, drew it into the crook of his arm, and pressed it to his side. She was sure she had never been so happy and so content as she was at that moment.

“Logan . . .” She tilted her head until her cheek brushed his shoulder. “What did you mean when you said we both had learned something today? I know what I learned. What did you learn beside the fact that I can be headstrong and unreasonable?”

“You admit it, huh?” He chuckled softly and it seemed to her he pressed her hand tighter to him.

“I don’t like to admit I was wrong, but there’s no help for it.”

“Among my people, when a woman disobeys she gets a beating. Will it make you feel better if I whack your bottom with a willow switch?”

“You . . . wouldn’t!” She drew the word out and peered up into his face to see if he was teasing. A soft, throaty laugh came out of the darkness. “Logan . . .”

“Next time I’ll not even stop to think about it.”

The thought that they’d be together so there would be a next time caused her heart to jump out of rhythm. They came to the place where she had bathed. The body of the cougar still lay half in and half out of the water. Behind them something scuttled into the brush. The night was alive with sounds, and Rosalee unconsciously moved nearer to Logan. He placed the rifle within easy reach and pulled the dead animal out of the water.

“He’s a big one.” He took a thin blade from his boot and began removing the pelt.

“I’ll always think about him crouched there on the ledge. I was never so scared in my life.” A new awareness of her danger struck her so forcibly she trembled violently.

“It’s over, and a valuable lesson has been learned. This is a hard, rough country, Rosalee, and you have to be prepared for the unexpected. A man out here can’t afford to make many mistakes.” He worked swiftly, the blade making sure slashes. When he finished he spread the pelt out on the rocks, skin side up so it would dry. “I’ll pull the carcass into the brush and in a week’s time the scavengers will have taken care of it.”

“He’s too big! You’ll hurt your ribs.” She tried unsuccessfully to keep the revulsion from her voice. “I’ll help you.”

His arms went around her and pulled her against him. “Rosalee, Rosalee . . . I’ve never met a woman like you before.” He breathed the words into her hair.

“Is that good . . . or bad?” Her voice caught and she kept her face pressed to his shirt, loving the feel of his arms around her, wanting it to last as long as possible.

Logan was certain now that he held a special place in her heart and his own began to clamor with the desire to hold her, caress her, take comfort in the fact he was loved. He had to hold back for his own sake as well as hers. She had no acquaintance with blind hatred, ugliness. The taint of being a breed’s woman would crush her bubbling spirit. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips against the smooth strands of her hair. Once committed there would be no going back. In time she would come to hate and resent him. He shuddered. The thought was like a knife blade twisting in his guts!

“Both good and bad,” he said lightly, and stood away from her. “Let’s get this beast out of sight so we can enjoy our bath.”

Rosalee knew he had been as shaken as she had been by their close contact. She had felt his heart pound against hers, had felt his lips in her hair, and the trembling of his hands as they moved on her back. He wanted her. Somehow she knew he had the same craving for her love as she had for his, but he was determined to keep a barrier between them because of his Indian blood. He was holding himself in restraint, and all she could do was wait unless she was the one to destroy the barrier.

They each took a leg of the cougar and dragged it some distance from the pool. Rosalee had to steel herself in order to touch the animal, and was immensely relieved when Logan signaled they had gone far enough.

“I don’t want to shock your modesty, but I’m about to strip and get into the pool,” Logan said when they came back to the water’s edge. He began to take off his shirt.

“I won’t look if you won’t,” she said daringly. Then, to cover her embarrassment, added, “I’ll wash your shirt before we leave.” She glanced at him. He had pulled off his knee-high moccasins and was unbuttoning his pants. She turned quickly and stood with her back to him. His soft laughter came to her out of the darkness.

“Don’t forget . . . I haven’t promised . . . anything!” he teased, and she heard him splashing in the water. “This is hot! Oh, it feels good. Come on in, Rosalee.”

“Not till you promise.” She tried to keep the giggles out of her voice.

“I saw you this afternoon. Have you grown something new since then?”

“That was different. I didn’t know you were watching me.”

“You won’t be sure, now. I may tell you I’m not looking when I am.”

“That would be cheating!”

“Yeah.”

Happiness sang in Rosalee’s heart. She turned and searched for his dark head above the water. “Turn around,” she called.

“I’m turned.”

“Logan Horn! I can see your teeth gleaming in the moonlight. I know your mouth isn’t in the back of your head!”

He let out a shout of happy laughter and she wished she could see his face. Quickly, she pulled her dress over her head, dropped her shift, and sprinted into the water.

“You’ve got a mole on your backside, Rosalee,” he called.

“Oh . . . you!” She knelt in the water until it came up to her neck, then moved into the deep part of the pool. “I’ll not let you use my soap if you don’t behave,” she threatened.

“Are you going to wash my back?”

“It’s too deep for me out there.”

“Can’t you swim?”

“I can’t even float!”

“I’ll teach you someday . . .” His voice trailed off. “The water is hotter near the falls.”

“Isn’t this wonderful? Do you think the water is this warm in the wintertime? Imagine taking a bath with the snow on the ground!” The moon was lost momentarily behind a wandering cloud and she felt a moment of panic when she couldn’t see him and he didn’t speak. “Logan . . . where are you?”

“Here, near the falls.”

“I couldn’t see you.”

“I can see you.”

“I’m going to get out. If you want the soap, you’ll have to come get it.” Silence. After deep listening, where she heard only a chorus of hoot owls and the splash of the water cascading over the falls, she called, “Logan . . . don’t scare me.” He came up out of the water beside her, shaking his dark head and pushing the hair back from his face with his two hands. “Oh! My land! You’re like a fish!”

He held out his hand and she put the soap into it. The water came to her armpits, covering her breasts. He stood beside her, working the lather into his hair, then over his face, shoulders, and arms. His eyes never left her face, and hers clung to his. They didn’t speak; the silence spoke for them. They both were acutely aware the other stood naked a few feet away, and both of them wanted desperately to reach out to the other. Rosalee stared longingly at his broad shoulders, at the width of his chest, and the hardness of his arms. How would it be if he reached for me? she wondered. She could feel the force of his intense gaze and her heart thudded painfully. Her love for him grew another measure, and tortured her. He wants to, she thought. He wants to reach for me, to hold me.