Frontier Highlander Vow of Love (American Wilderness Series Romance Book 4) (24 page)

Perhaps because Bear was the larger man, the male headed straight toward him. He could see intelligence and determination in the beast’s brown eyes. Steam puffed out of his drooling mouth. Rippling muscles foretold astounding strength.

He put determination into his own eyes, letting the brute know he was in for a fight. For this battle, Bear would have to call on his own savage inner fire.

When the bears were within range, he fired, then immediately fired the second set of pistols at the larger of the two bears.

But the black bears merely ran through the murky smoke of the flintlocks, as though only a bee had bitten them. Bear threw down the pistols.

Steller brandished his knife uselessly at the approaching female as she honed in on him. Terror swathed the man’s face. He wouldn’t be surprised to see Steller run. If he did, he would be a dead man. He might be anyway.

Bear drew his hatchet with his right hand and his long knife with his left. The muscles of his forearms hardened beneath his sleeves. He stood ready for battle, his knees slightly bent, and his stance wide. Fiery blood coursed through his veins.

He’d faced death at the jaw of a black bear once before, and had the scars to prove it, but he’d managed to live through the attack by keeping his wits and his weapons sharp. As a bear hunter for many towns in New Hampshire, hired by farmers who wanted to protect their livestock and
children, he’d killed and skinned numerous bears before. But he completed those kills from a distance. Now, he would have to use his knowledge of bear anatomy to strike the bear where it would be most vulnerable.

In the next moment, absolute chaos erupted as both bears pounced and the men fought with howling biting balls of fur. Steller was soon screaming. But Bear couldn’t look. He had his own bear to fend off.

He lashed out wildly with both weapons and used his arms to protect his face. He also kept his body bent, trying to keep the vicious claws away from his organs. If the bear got to his heart or other vital body parts, he would be a dead man. After slashing the bear several times, and receiving several cuts on his arms, he succeeded in getting the male to back off long enough for him to take a much needed breath or two.

“Ye didn’t expect such a fight, did ye?” Bear sneered through clenched teeth.

He clutched both weapons tightly, his heart pounding harder than he could ever remember, as the bear bellowed and growled. Then, grunting, it circled around him, came at his right side, and threw one powerful swipe to his shoulder with an immense paw.

Bear used his hatchet and every bit of strength in his arm to block the blow. His arm felt as if it might break so great was the force of the wallop, but with his other hand, he sunk his long knife into the bear’s side. He had to leave the knife where he planted it when the monster twisted away.

He pulled the knife sheathed in the Indian pouch hanging from his neck. Regrettably, it was much smaller, but he squeezed both the knife and the hatchet tightly in his hands.

A ferocious roar deafened him. The angered bear leapt at him and clawed at the side of Bear’s torso, ripping his buckskin shirt and his flesh. It tried to bite his side too, but he pivoted just out of the reach of the jaw’s razor sharp teeth. As he spun, he raised his arm in a sweeping arch and slammed his hatchet toward the bear’s back. The wood handle held in his hand reverberated violently, all the way to his shoulder, as the cutting edge sunk deep into the bear’s back and stayed there.

Bear stepped away and, holding only the small knife, stood ready for another attack. Behind him, he heard Steller scream again.

In pain and bleeding, the male tried to slap the hatchet off his back but was unable to reach it. Incensed, he rose on his hind legs, howled, snarled, and locked maddened eyes directly on Bear.

He looked like some sort of angered mythical god of the forest, draped in a shining black robe. Bear half expected a lightning bolt to fly from his colossal paws so great was the bear’s aura of power.

The forest god roared. Once more, the woods filled with a reverberating thunder that echoed off the trees.

The bellow sounded more like a gravelly devil than a god.

Bear would not let the animal bully him. He took a deep breath, filled his lungs, and teeth bared, let out his own booming roar.

The enormous animal would not be intimidated either. Blood pouring onto the ground from both wounds, it lurched straight for him. Bear was tempted to run, but knew that would likely be a fatal mistake. Even wounded, the bear still had the power to kill him. Instead, he stood his ground until the fiend reached him and, in a split second, it slapped the pouch knife out of Bear’s hand with one paw, and with the other paw knocked him several feet backwards. He felt a puncture to his scalp when the tip of a claw connected to his head.

Bear’s back slammed into the earth and air flew from his already heaving lungs. Time slowed as he laid there trying to breathe, awaiting the bear, expecting the monstrous creature to maul him to pieces. He was seconds away from death.

He had only one weapon left. Only one slim chance at a life with Artis.

He had to do this for her.

He bent his knee and reached into his moccasin for his
sgian dubh
.

The enraged monster dove and straddled Bear’s body, lowering his head. Bear was literally facing death. The bear’s pink nostrils flared as it
prepared to bite Bear’s face off. To taste his blood. To end his life.

Bear could feel the hot stinking breath of the brute gust against his neck. It smelled like the rotting meat of its last kill.

‘With a strong hand.’
Gripping the weapon with both hands, he plunged the blade between the killer’s eyes with all the strength he had left.

Only then, did the beast grow still and start to crumple.

Bear swiftly rolled and ducked to his right between the bear’s arm and shoulder to keep the heavy animal from falling on top of him.

Still on his knees, he peered over at Steller.

The disemboweled man was being drug away by the other bear. Even though he’d also been nearly scalped, Steller wasn’t dead yet.

His terror-filled eyes were open.

Bear lost his breath at the horror.

The female bear stopped and turned her mouth sideways. The creature’s big teeth started chipping away at Steller’s skull. He heard teeth crushing bone and saw pieces of flesh falling to the ground.

Steller’s eyes were still open but all the life in them was gone.

Bear quickly yanked his hatchet and knife out of the male and then stood. Staying bent, he stealthily stepped to where Kelly’s Kentucky long rifle still laid on the ground. He didn’t want to draw the female’s attention. He leaned down slowly to pick up the weapon and prayed it was still loaded. He could not take the time to check. He needed to kill the second bear before she came after him. He leaned his left shoulder against a tree to steady himself and slowly raised the powerful weapon to his shoulder. He carefully lined up the sights on the feasting bear.

He fired, killing the second bear with a shot to the head.

The bear crumpled, covering Steller’s soulless body.

Chapter 30

D
oc McDowell followed Mister McGuffin into the cabin.

“Thank you for coming so speedily,” Kelly said.

“It’s good to get away from my apothecary now and then, and breathe some fresh air. Your father very nearly missed me. I was packing to leave for two weeks when he arrived.”

“God must have known we needed you,” Kelly said.

“Now, tell me about this woman,” the doctor said walking over to the bed.

Her father filled the doctor in on what he had done to get the lead out of Artis and Kelly described what she had done to care for her.

“Well it sounds like you have both done all that you could. It’s helpful that you used the willow tree bark. The natives call it a ‘plant of virtue’ for a reason.”

“What else can be done?” Kelly asked.

“I’m sorry to say that about half of people who have a surgery such as this die.”

“No! You can’t let her die. She was just married by pledge to Daniel MacKay the same evening she was shot. And William would have married
them that very night had it not been for the man who tried to rob us on our way home.”

“I know, I was at the ball,” McDowell said. “She was quite stunning.”

“I’m sorry. I forgot,” Kelly admitted. “This whole mess has me quite frazzled.”

“There were a lot of people there. By the way, where is Bear?” McDowell asked.

“Pursuing a murderer,” William answered.

“The one that shot her?”

“No, he’s after the one that killed Artis’ mother in Scotland. A man named Steller followed Artis here. The man that shot Artis is the one in my jail that you removed the bullet from.” William explained how and why the robber managed to shoot Artis.

“Oh, that nasty fellow. I should have known. Well, let’s get to work on Artis.”

McDowell pulled the bed coverings back and bent his graying head to examine Artis’ wound.

Artis continued to sleep, but she moaned often and kept moving her head back and forth against the pillow.

The doctor nodded his head a couple of times. “The good news is that there are no red streaks shooting out from the puncture site. That would be an extremely bad sign.” McDowell glanced over at her father. “You did a skillful job. And your stitching is fine work. These do not look like the stitches of an amateur. Are you a surgeon?”

McGuffin took a deep breath and let it out. “I was.”

Kelly gasped and put a hand to her mouth. She thought her father had always been a trapper. She gave him an incredulous stare, but he said nothing further and his posture stiffened.

Then McDowell touched Artis’ forehead with his fingers. “Her fever
is not high, and that’s another sign to my liking. The heat from a low fever will fight against festering.”

“Thank God,” Kelly said.

McDowell studied Artis’ face for another moment. They could all see that she was distressed. She started to whimper and continued to move her head about. “Her unsettled sleep concerns me. Is she troubled about something?”

“Yes—she’s terrified of the man Bear is tracking. She’s afraid he’ll come back and hurt all of us,” McGuffin answered.

“And she’s worried about Bear. She knows he’s gone after a devil,” Kelly added.

“She’ll heal quicker if she’s calmer. She’s clearly agitated. The sooner Bear gets back and reassures her that he’s all right, the better,” McDowell said. “When do you expect him?”

“This is the third day since he left,” William answered. “In truth, I’m concerned about him myself.”

“I’m sure you want to try to find Bear,” McDowell said, “but it would not be wise now to leave your family alone.”

“You’re right, I’d rather not leave with that killer lose. But Mister McGuffin is quite capable of defending them,” William said, looking over at her father, “but I have no way of knowing where Bear is. I’ll give him one more day and if he doesn’t show up, I’ll start hunting for him.”

Kelly sincerely hoped Bear would return. She hated the thought of William going after that vicious killer.

“I’d recommend something to help her sleep and this medicinal salve. I brought some from my apothecary. Both are made from roots, bark, and other materials.” Doc McDowell reached into his bag and removed a brown and a blue jar. “Put a drop or two of this in a tea twice a day for two days and after that only at night. She’ll sleep soundly,” he said holding up the blue jar. Then he reached for the brown jar. “This salve will help speed
the healing. Apply it three times a day.” He applied some himself as Kelly watched over his shoulder.

“Is there anything else you can do?” she asked.

“Well, I would not recommend bloodletting. She’s lost too much blood already to breathe a vein,” he answered. “You said her pain has lessened so we don’t need to give her any more laudanum. I believe we are better off just letting her sleep and heal. Give her light meals until her appetite comes back. She should come around in a couple more days. She’s young and strong.”

Kelly let out the breath she’d been holding. “I’ve been so worried.”

When the doctor stood, she smoothed the covers back over Artis.

“You need to be sure you’re getting rest yourself,” he admonished with kind eyes. “How’s your little girl?”

“As you can see, she’s growing like a spring weed,” Kelly said, pointing to her daughter. Nicole sat pounding a wooden mixing spoon on the floorboards on the other side of the cabin where Kelly prepared meals.

MacDowell went over to Nicole and picked her up and much to the child’s delight sat her on the table. “I’ll take a quick look at her while I’m here.”

Kelly, William, and McGuffin all watched the doctor examine the girl.

“She looks healthy and happy,” he pronounced.

“Aapp peee,” Nicole tried to say, and smiled up at the doctor.

Kelly let out another sigh of relief.

MacDowell, still holding Nicole’s hand, said, “She is one of the prettiest little girls I’ve ever seen. But it’s no wonder with you two as her parents,” he said, glancing over at Kelly and William.

“Thank you doctor. And thank you for all your help,” William said and paid him.

The doctor handed Nicole to Kelly and said to her father, “Mister
McGuffin, in a couple of weeks, I’ll be back in Boonesborough. Come by my office again and I’ll treat you to a coffee.”

Her father merely nodded at the doctor.

McDowell turned to William. “When I get to town, I’ll check on your prisoner before I go back to the apothecary for my things and leave town. Do you have a message for your deputy?”

“Tell him I said to stay alert and to not trust that bloody robber with even a handkerchief,” William said. “I’m awaiting word from the other settlements on what murders he or his cohorts may have committed during their robberies. When Judge Webb gets back into town, he’ll take care of the man’s punishment.”

“I’ll tell him. And I’ll pray for your brother’s safe return and that the man he is tracking receives his just punishment as well.”