Echoes of the Heart (16 page)

           
Was
she setting a trap by letting him use her?
 
Why else would she give in so easily whenever they embraced?
 
He would stick with Angie and the other women
he visited from time to time while traveling the state.
 
Let her lure someone else into her
snare.
 
Yet somehow, the picture of her
in the arms of another man made his blood boil.

           
His
sleepless night seemed endless as he stared at the ceiling attempting a few
hours sleep, thinking as usual of his lost family and then of Raeden.
 
He had a tall glass of whiskey from the
bottle he kept nearby and finally fell into a fitful doze.

           
He
rose before daybreak then pushed through the office door looking for coffee to
find John still asleep.
 
John clad in his
long johns, shot up instantly reaching for his pistol when Cash barged
through.
 
“Jesus Cash, do you want to get
killed?”

Cash shrugged and
made a pot of coffee while John got dressed.
 
They drank and Cash questioned John.
 
“Any news on Harry?”

           
“Doc
says he will make it, but will limp for awhile.”

“I’ll leave it up
to you if you want to arrest him.
 
Maybe
a week or so in jail will teach him a lesson.
 
He didn’t hurt anyone and I think basically he is harmless, just another
cowboy with too much whiskey under his belt.”
 
He grabbed a box of ammunition from the drawer under the gun case.
 
“I didn’t find anything on those new guys we
saw in town but keep your eyes open.
 
I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

           
He
lifted a rifle from the cabinet then his jacket off the peg and sauntered to
the livery to pick up the wagon he had stored inside barn, looking forward to a
visit with Dull Knife and all his old friends.
 

Cash felt restless
and on edge as he traveled toward the Black Hills.
 
He admired the familiar sight of the dark
remote pinnacles looming from the rocky earth. The shaded crevices appeared as
lava flowing from the apex to the foundation.
 
He put as many miles between Chamberlain and the hills as he could
before nightfall, seeking an end to the countless miles leaving him thinking
far too much.

           
It
would be a relief to see for himself how his friends fared, holed up in rocky
caves unable to hunt, running for their lives from the threat of the soldiers
determined to remove them from the land they called home.

           
He
camped out on the ground under the night sky littered with constellations and
star clusters surrounding a silver haloed moon.
 
He attempted to remain detached from invading thoughts.

***

Just over the South
Dakota border into Nebraska,
three drifters sat around a campfire planning a bank robbery in
Chamberlain.
 
They had come north from San
Antonio after a run-in with some Texas Rangers who had
forced them to leave town in a hurry.

Hearing about the
new wealth, they wanted to check for themselves and suspected the bank would be
a nice target after the herds came in.
 
Even though gossip had it the marshal and his deputy had a reputation
for remaining alert and conscientious, they made a decision to take the risk.

They decided to
break camp the next morning and head toward the Dakotas
and stay out of sight until the right time presented itself.
 
It would have to be in daylight since they
did not possess any dynamite or the ability to crack a safe but they had guns
and knew how to use them.
 
This would not
be the first time they had robbed and it would not be their last.

***

Cash entered the
stronghold amongst running children and greeters he had known most of his
life.
 
His mouth curved into a smile when
he recognized Dull Knife and his son dressed in hide clothing and moccasins
walking toward him.
 
Beads decorated
their long black braids tied with thin leather thongs.

           
He
entered Dull Knife’s wickiup and sat cross-legged on buffalo rugs to eat, smoke
pipes and talk.
  
To Cash’s surprise, he
discovered he could even discuss Little Cloud and remember the good times and
happiness they shared instead of all the pain plaguing him for the last few
years.
 

He had known her
most of his life, still missed her and resented the way Raeden had crept under
his skin allowing him to feel once again.
 
He’d spent years adopting a discipline and secreting behind a barrier of
indifference to allow himself to function around people desiring more than he
wanted to give.

The return trip
took less time without the burden of the heavy load.
 
However, the weight on his mind remained a
constant making him resolute to stay clear of Raeden.
 
She invaded his thoughts most of the
time.
 
He would just concern himself with
what lie before him, doing his job to the best of his ability and explore all
the possibilities to assist the Cheyenne.

Eighteen

Two days since
Cash arrived back in town, Raeden continued to dwell on the scene in the
street.
 
Fear had overwhelmed her
watching the man point his gun at Cash.
 
All the same, when Cash shot him, she could barely recognize him as the
same man.
 
His expression had been so
cold and heartless when he turned his gun in her face without even a flinch of
hesitation, an animal quiet and proficient taking down prey.
 
Yet she could not fault him for defending
himself and protecting others.

She still did not
understand why Cash had the need to supply the Indians.
 
Wasn’t his job here in town?
 
So few in numbers, the Indians’ fate appeared
sealed.
 
To prolong the inevitable seemed
barbaric.
 
However, she did admire his
tenacious nature to defend weaker individuals unable to protect
themselves.
 

It seemed strange
he had not been by since he had stopped in so frequently before he left town
but she felt glad in a way, she did not have to struggle with her
feelings.
 
When around him, she desired
to experience the sensations he could so easily arouse.
 
He could erase all morals with a kiss or a caress
making her want to explore all the taboos she had heard about—read about.

She spent hours at
dressmaking to keep her mind busy and continued to strive for her goal.
 
No replies concerning the drafts she had sent
to a few wholesalers in New York
came in.
 
Nonetheless, she kept her hopes
high thinking her work could compete with anything she had seen in the
magazines.

Each night her
sleep became restless when she remembered the passion shared with Cash.
 
Her reaction disturbed her because she wanted
to go again to the heights she remembered from the back room of the store.
 
She rode every morning to clear her head
although when she paused for even one moment, the craving resurfaced.
 
What
nonsense.
 
His actions had proven him
nothing but a cad and a bully taking advantage of her weakness whenever he had
the notion.
 
Good riddance.
 
I
have better things to do.

Several gowns for
the ball had been completed and more requests followed, giving her plenty of
work before the gala.
 
She had designed a
gown for Diane of pale blue silk matching her sapphire eyes and cut low to show
off her figure and a dark blue velvet cape trimmed with silver fox to complete
the ensemble.
 
The store had exquisite
furs available since the trappers along the river came through Chamberlain in
the spring, allowing them first pick of the pelts.
     

After clearing her
work area, she dressed for riding and stepped outside then found herself
walking toward the hotel which would bring her past the marshal’s office.
 
This is
crazy.
 
Still desiring to see him,
she continued down and watched him walk in her direction.
 
He ambled arrogantly and his handsome face
and hard lean torso in his tight jeans made her temperature rise.
 
Viewing Cash entering the saloon she ducked
out of eyeshot before he could see her.
 
Feeling imprudent she ran back to get Arte and sped toward home.

           
There
had to be a way to rid her mind of him, a disease infecting her
principles.
 
She deliberately walked on
thin ice hoping it would not crack under the weight of her curiosity and
desire.

***

Worried for her
welfare while riding alone, Diane gave her shooting instructions, saying
Chamberlain was less civilized than St. Louis
and Raeden’s protection was of utmost concern.

They rode into the
pastureland outside of the house and set up targets of bottles and tins on
rocks spread along the dry sun-baked earth.
 
At first, she missed the mark, churning up dust when the bullets hit the
ground, but as she began to get the feel of the handgun, her aim become more
precise.

After several
lessons, a great sense of pride and power rose in her chest when she struck all
the targets without missing one.
 
Along
with the pistol, Diane gave her a tooled leather saddle holster so it would
remain handy when she went out to ride, more assured of her safety as she rode farther
into the open countryside.

           
Customers
had related stories of women dragged off by scouting parties of Apache or
cattle rustlers shooting witnesses to their acts making identification
impossible, keeping them from the gallows.
 
She only half-believed some of them.
 
Somehow, all of it seemed so impersonal and difficult to relate while
she rode alone in the emptiness without seeing a soul.

Nineteen

On his arrival
from the Black Hills, Cash avoided the store and in
particular, Raeden.
 
Though still curious
about her reasons for being in Chamberlain in the first place, he tried to
close it all in the back of his mind.
 

Angry at his
inability to erase Raeden completely from his thoughts, he had seen Angie
nightly and she teased him about the frequency of his visits.
 
Nothing could slake the gnawing ache in his
gut.
 
He needed a drink, maybe
several.
 

At the bar, he
ordered a beer and flopped down in a chair at a table facing the doorway, back
to the wall.
 
He propped his boots on a
side chair and lit a cigar letting the gray aromatic smoke swirl up around his
face as he stared out windows on each side of the door facing the street.
 
He called for another and Angie appeared,
drink in hand.
 
She smiled, long blonde hair
framing her face and breasts provocatively peeking above the bodice of a low-cut
clinging black dress.
 
He watched her
slender curvaceous frame while she came near, seeking any distraction from the
torment inside.

“Hi, Cash, are you
here for pleasure or just a quick beer?”
 
His eyes scrutinized her body when she sat on his lap wrapping slim arms
around the back of his neck.
 
His hat
dropped to the floor when he pulled her close to his chest and put his lips to
her ear.

“What do you
think?”
 

“I think we had
better go to my room.”
 
He lowered to
kiss the crevice between her breasts.
 
She threw her head back and gasped while he continued to lay kisses
along her chest up to her neck and his hardness grew beneath her firm derrière.

***

           
Raeden
had already made many friends among the women in town.
 
The store served as a meeting place on
occasion, allowing her the opportunity to talk and gossip as well as increasing
her sales.
 
She had also made additional
acquaintances with the folks attending church service on Sunday and liked the
easygoing way of the people living here.
 
They didn’t rush around in their own busy world like big city
dwellers.
 

She had plans this
day to meet with some friends near her own age for tea and gossip at the hotel
café.
 
The autumn weather had turned cold
so she wore a heavy dress and a shawl over her shoulders as she walked to the
café to meet with her friends.

A man rushed
through the saloon door into the street just as Raeden passed, giving her a
glimpse of Cash across the room.
 
My God, he has a hussy on his lap and just
look at that tawdry dress!

The woman’s beauty
did not go unnoticed as he kissed her cleavage, hands roaming above her
waist.
 
Feeling hurt and used, she now
knew for sure his intentions toward her and the thought made her feel sick.
 
Remembering their shared intimacy, her face
ignited eyes stinging as she left the scene.
 
I hate him!
 
I hate him!
 
The
good for nothing, lecherous bastard.