Frontier Highlander Vow of Love (American Wilderness Series Romance Book 4) (2 page)

BOOK: Frontier Highlander Vow of Love (American Wilderness Series Romance Book 4)
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With her free hand, she reached out, straining towards her mother’s body, wanting to touch her kind face one last time. Deep sobs racked her chest. Unfathomable sorrow seized her heart. “Mum…”

The man grabbed her bag—his one small act of kindness—and then drug her through the door. Towing her by her arm through the dirt, he deposited her and her bag well away from the blazing house.

Mounted on his stallion now, Steller glared down at her. “Do na bother
to hide. I’ll be back for ye.” His voice felt as cold and lashing as a winter gale.

Unable to control her fury, she pushed herself up. Her breath came raggedly, but she spit out, “If ye come back for me, I swear I’ll find a way to kill ye.”

“I warned ye before and ye did na listen. If ye reject me further, next time, tis ye that will die.” Briskly whipping and twisting his horse around, he rode off to join his men.

She lifted her eyes and wept in horror at the sight of her burning home—her dear mother’s funeral pyre. The spectacle of the roaring flames seared her heart, and forced her to squeeze her eyes shut and sink to her knees.

The others, old and young, lingering nearby, also wept, their whimpering cries mingling together in a pitiful chorus.

In shock, they all joined Artis on the ground, planting themselves amid the few belongings and furniture they had managed to drag out of their homes. A few coughed as the awful smoke and heat scorched their throats.

On the other side of the township, Steller’s men lit a stack of peat, used for fuel, taking away their only means of warmth along with their homes. Then, the few trees around their homes were set alight, no doubt to stop rebuilding. Delivering even more cruelty, they set fire to their crops.

Amid the chaos, they heard faint cries coming from one of the burning homes—the home of Donald MacKay, nearly 100 years of age and bedridden. No one had thought to save her uncle. Steller’s men had left him to the cruelty of the flames!

Artis started to raise up to run toward her uncle’s home, but the other women held her back. Several of the village men were already rushing to Donald’s home. They rescued him and carried the poor suffering man toward the others.

Artis scrambled on her knees over to her aged great-uncle. She placed her hands upon his chest. “Uncle Donald,” she cried through her sobs.

Smudges of soot covered his timeworn face and wrinkled arms. His aging blue eyes looked up at her as he unpinned his silver brooch and handed it to her. “Go to the colonies my dear lass,” he whispered, his voice faint and hoarse. “Yer destiny is na longer here.”

“But this is my home,” she said, taking the precious symbol of clan MacKay from his trembling hand.

He reached up with the shaky tip of his index finger and tapped her chest, right above her heart. “Nay, dear one, yer home is in here. When I see God, I will ask Him to send ye a brawny man to love ye and give ye another family, so ye can find happiness.”

“Happiness?”

“Aye, happi…” The thin milky skin of his lids slid down.

“Uncle,” Artis whimpered, “do na leave me. My mum is gone. I’ll be all alone if ye leave too.”

But Artis could almost see the soft wind carry Donald’s soul away, to join his brother’s daughter, and her beloved mother, Mary MacKay, in another world entirely.

Artis laid her head upon his chest and wept until the others lifted her up and offered her comfort for her losses. But she found no solace in their words as both raw grief and visceral anger consumed her.

After one last act of cruelty, using a whip on a village man trying to stop the flames from consuming his family’s home, Steller and his minions departed. Every village dog, including her own, barking and growling at the heels of the departing horses, followed the wicked men for a while.

In but a few minutes, through tear moistened eyes and mute wretchedness, Artis could see the smoke of yet another MacKay clan village burning, reducing to ashes the homes of others along the Strath.

As Steller set further settlements afire that day, a heavy dark shroud of smoke and sadness soon enveloped the whole countryside, and even reached far out across the sea.

Chapter 1

Near Cumberland Falls, Kentucky, Early Fall 1799

I
’m glad we’re finally gettin’ this house finished for ye,” Bear MacKee told his adopted brother Sam. “I even have splinters on me arse.”

“I’m glad too—I won’t have to listen to your imaginative complaints anymore!” Sam said. “Now, if you would be kind enough to pick up that mantel and get it placed where Catherine wants it.”

“Aye, I’ll be sure to put it exactly where yer lovely wife wants it placed. If not, she’ll na doubt make me do it again.”

Bear heard Sam laughing as he trudged toward the new home they were putting the finishing touches on. The six-foot plank was a good four inches thick and for most men carrying the heavy mantel would be a job for two. But his shoulders and arms did not seem to mind the weight. He’d always been a strong man, but all the lifting and hauling he’d done helping Sam build the house and barn had made him even more so.

Bear made his way to the home’s spacious parlor and carefully laid the beautiful piece of wood atop its supports.

“A little to the right, Bear,” Catherine instructed. “No back an inch or so to the left. No, no, back a few hairs toward the right.”

Bear turned his face toward Catherine. “A wee bit more?”

“No, that’s perfect. It looks splendid!”

He heard happiness in Catherine’s voice. She married Sam two years ago and, with each day that passed, their marriage reflected their contentment and shared joy even more.

Watching them lately made him wonder about his own future. Was it time he found a bride for himself? But here in the middle of frontier Kentucky the only female he was likely to meet was one of Sam’s mares or a cow with four tits.

He would have to leave Sam, Catherine, and Little John. He understood that. He also dreaded it. He’d always been close to Sam—they’d grown up together and were more alike than any of his other four adopted brothers. Actually, only three now. Little John’s father, John, had been brutally killed by buffalo hunters. He and Sam had seen John’s murder avenged, but the loss was still raw to them all.

After John’s death, Sam adopted the lad and when he proposed to Catherine, made her understand that she would also be accepting Little John. Catherine readily agreed and the three seemed to quickly become a happy family. Watching the boy’s love for Catherine and Sam grow made Bear even more convinced that someday he wanted to start a family of his own.

“It’s taken us more than a year, but I do believe we have finally finished Bear!” Catherine said.

“Aye, it’s a fine home. One ye will enjoy for many years to come.”

Catherine sat down in her rocker and let out a deep sigh. Bear could see that being with child continued to take a toll on her energy.

“Are ye well?” he asked, concerned.

“Oh, indeed. It’s perfectly normal for women with child to become tired.”

Sam hurried in with his arms full of firewood. “I thought we would christen the new fireplace mantel with a roaring fire. What say you my
beautiful bride?”

“What a marvelous idea!” Catherine answered. “These fall mornings are getting cooler and my toes are cold.”

“Your toes are always cold,” Sam said. He exchanged a smile with her then bent to his task of building the hearth fire. When Sam finished, he stood to admire the mantel. “That’s fine workmanship, Bear. It looks just right.”

“It was a pleasure to make it for the two of ye.”

“You and Sam—and Mister McGuffin, until he left to go live with William and Kelly—all worked so hard building this house,” Catherine said. “And, of course the housewright and craftsmen, too.”

“Aye, McGuffin seemed beyond eager to get back. When he found out he was to be a grandfather, he danced and skipped around here with his saw and hammer in his hands for weeks,” Bear said.

“But all your efforts were well worth it. I love my new home. It’s as grand as my English estate.”

Bear and Sam, looked at each other. Both knew that was an exaggeration. Catherine was a wealthy woman, raised in Boston, from a noble English family. Her grandfather left his English estate, and a mansion called Brympton, to her. Sam had never seen it and neither had he but, from her descriptions, he could well imagine its grandeur.

Sam deserved to be proud of what they’d built here. It was a fine, sturdy, and spacious two-story home, among the nicest built in frontier Kentucky. Bear saw a few grander homes, as they passed through Virginia and Tennessee, but none finer in Kentucky.

They also constructed pens for horses and a large barn with ten stalls—five on each side. The stable would allow Sam to stall his prize stallions and best mares during the winter. The rest would take shelter in a sizeable shed.

“It may not compare to Brympton, but I promise you, we will love
living here with Little John and our other children,” Sam said, looking at Catherine with adoring eyes.

Bear did not miss the spark that passed between the two. He longed for someone that would make him feel that way. It was definitely time for him to leave. “Sam, Catherine, I’ve decided somethin’.”

Sam glanced up, his rugged face registering the seriousness in Bear’s tone.

“I need to leave for a while. It’s time I found me a lass of me own,” Bear said. He could feel his cheeks flushing, but he stood a little straighter, certain this was what he needed to do.

“Bear!” Catherine said. “I had no idea you were thinking of leaving.”

“For some time now, I’ve been givin’ it considerable thought. I can see how much happiness ye’ve brought Sam, and the joy Little John has given ye both. I’d like a chance at the same.”

Sam reached over and patted Bear on the back. “We wish you God’s speed and help in sending the right woman to your path.”

Bear chuckled. “I’d rather He sent her into me arms!”

“Indeed,” Sam agreed.

“When do you plan to leave Bear?” Catherine asked.

“Tomorrow,” Bear answered, “that is unless Sam has anythin’ else he needs help with.”

“Bear, you’ve been more than generous with your time. We could find projects to work on together for the rest of our lives, and then some,” Sam said. “At some point, a person needs to stop thinking about work and start thinking about happiness. I believe your time for that way of thinking has come.”

“I agree,” Catherine said. “You deserve all the happiness in the world, Bear. You’ve been the best brother a man could possibly be for both of us.”

“You’ve risked your life fighting for us. You’ve worked day and night helping us. And you are not only my brother, you’re a loyal friend,” Sam said. “It won’t be the same around here without you.”

“Without him?” Little John barged into the room, carrying several rocks in his dirty hands “Where you going Bear?”

Bear knelt down to one knee so he could look into the seven-year-old’s blue eyes. “I’m goin’ to find me a bride, John.”

“But you and I live here,” the boy protested. “What do you need a wife for?”

“I know ye and I live here, and I’ll be back to see ye lad. I do na know how long I’ll be gone. Hopefully, the good Lord will put some wonderful lass right in my path and I will na have to look too long.”

“Can I go with you?” Little John asked. “I know what lasses look like and I could help you find a pretty one.”

Bear cleared his throat and smiled. “Well lad, that would be very nice, and I’m sure ye’d have a skillful eye for spotting a bonnie lass. But I need ye to stay here and help yer mum. Since she’s goin’ to have a wee brother or sister for ye soon, she may be needin’ a big brother like you to help her out.”

Little John’s forehead wrinkled and he drew his dark brows together. “I hadn’t thought ‘bout that. I guess she might be needing me.”

“Indeed, I will,” Catherine said. “You’ll be a big help.”

“What have ye got there in yer hands?” Bear asked.

“Some shiny rocks. Wanna see?”

They heard a horse nicker. Bear stood and went with Sam to peek out the home’s wide entrance.

A lone rider neared the homestead.

Sam grabbed his rifle, leaning near the door and Bear did the same.

“Hello the house,” the rider yelled. “I bear a message for Daniel
MacKee.”

Bear stepped down off the porch, keeping a firm grip on his long rifle.

“I’m Daniel MacKee. What message do ye bear, Sir?” Bear asked.

“Sir, my name is Isaac Ambrose. Colonel Logan has asked that you return to St. Asaph’s. He needs to discuss an important matter with you.”

“What matter?”

“He did not share that with me, Sir. It’s been a long ride,” the man said rubbing his lower back. Can I ask for the favor of something to drink and the comfort of your home for an evening?”

“Indeed you may,” Sam replied hospitably. “I’m Samuel Wyllie, recently relocated here with my wife Catherine. After you have seen to your horse, please join us inside. This is my son John,” Sam said, placing his big hands on Little John’s shoulders. “Little John, show the man to the stable and help him take care of his mount. Then bring him into the house.”

“Wonder what this is all about,” Bear told Sam.

“No telling. The colonel may have word of Indian trouble and is summoning all single men for militia duty at the Fort. Or it may have to do with the new government.”

“I hope it’s the latter reason,” Bear said. “I’ve had enough of fightin’ the natives to last me a lifetime. I’m glad we seem to have finally entered a more peaceful time with ‘em.”

“Indeed,” Sam agreed.

“While I’m at the settlement, what supplies should I bring back?”

“Bear, have you forgotten that you were planning to leave on the morrow and won’t be coming back for some time?”

He shook his head, annoyed with himself. “Och, I did indeed. I’ll have to get used to the idea, I guess.”

Little John brought Ambrose back to the house and Bear followed the man and Sam inside, wondering what Colonel Logan could possibly want
with him. The colonel had founded the settlement at Fort Logan many years before and settlers now called the township St. Asaph’s—the named suggested by a Welshman in honor of the canonization of a Welsh monk.

BOOK: Frontier Highlander Vow of Love (American Wilderness Series Romance Book 4)
7.27Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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