Love by Dawn (20 page)

Now, Hawk Nose was annoyed at her for what
happened but woman’s time was the ways of life and he had to accept
nature. He did not like delays and he hoped that he was far enough
away from the village and that the snows covered up what trail they
left behind. He did his best to hide any signs, but Blue Thunder
was a good tracker. He had found them once before.

Images of Moon Glow, Blue Thunder and the
cave were so branded in his mind that the past became the present.
His love sat in the corner and the sight of red blood on her legs
brought back the horrible day Moon Glow gave birth. He had to fight
off the wolves that were trying to attack her. The screams of the
past filled the cave and he stood searching for the mad dogs that
howled. In his head, louder and louder their cries began to bounce
off the stone walls.

“Moon Glow!”

A cry shattered the silence
that surrounded Casey. Seeing the crazed look in the brave’s dark
eyes, she huddled further into the cave. His face contorted into an
ugly mask as the fire danced on his features making him look all
the more repulsive. Once again, Hawk Nose called out Moon Glow’s
name, ranting and raving something about hungry wolves tearing at
his flesh. He stopped and collapsed on the ground. Casey sat so
still she could hear her own heart beat. Tears streamed down her
face and she prayed silently for Blake to find her before this
Indian went completely loco and raped, or killed her. Without
moving a muscle she watched Hawk Nose fold himself into a ball and
sleep until he woke acting like himself again, which was a far cry
from being normal.
She was glad her time
only lasted three days and she flowed lightly. But they were three
miserable days nevertheless. She was allowed to go outside and wash
herself as best she could in the freshly fallen snow, which by the
third day was up to her calf. Shivering, she slept alone at night
huddled in the corner. At meal times, Hawk Nose threw her the food
and she had to wipe off the dirt before she could eat it. By the
time she was ready to travel, she was angry for being treated as if
she were a caged animal and she wondered if she’d ever feel human
again.

When the brave decided she was pure, he
ordered her to remove her dress and wash it along with his pants.
Shivering, he threw the horse blanket over her shoulders and even
though she rewarded this act with a dark frown, she quickly
snuggled into its folds. Huddled outside only in the blanket, she
believed she’d freeze to death before she finished her task. By the
time she returned to the cave her teeth chattered so hard, she
thought her jaw would crack. Laying herself and the garment by the
fire, she felt a headache beginning and queasiness in her stomach.
She feared she was catching a whopper of a cold and cursed under
her breath. It would serve the savage right if she died of
pneumonia. She sneezed twice wiping her runny nose on her arm.

“Moon Glow sleep by the fire.” He frowned
when he touched her warm face, knowing she had a fever. “You are
sick. We cannot make it to hiding place on mountain top now. We
remain here through winter months,” he informed her.

She hid a smile. It was the first time in her
life she welcomed a cold.

Hawk Nose watched his love moan and thrash
about under the blanket. She’d been with fever for two days. He
washed her face with snow and forced her to drink it. He kept her
near the fire and wrapped them both in the blanket, holding her
trembling body close. Even though she was ill, he couldn’t keep his
hands from roaming over her soft curves anticipating the day he
would take her to his mat. He loved her and she was his now. When
he kissed her sleeping mouth it brought back the memory of the day
she had first kissed him down by the lake.

She had been bathing. When she emerged from
the lake her pale body glistened from the sun’s kiss. Losing all
control, he appeared before her. She had been enraged at his bad
behavior and told him so. Dressing quickly, she turned to leave but
a rattler stood in her path. Not suspecting the danger, he pushed
Moon Glow to the ground. He’d killed the viper before it struck out
its deadly venom. Grateful for having her life spared, the golden
haired beauty placed a tender kiss on his face. She had sealed her
fate.

“Blake,” he heard the moan bringing Hawk Nose
out of his dreams.

Who was this Blake? It did not matter, she
belonged to him now.

Three days later her fever broke and Casey
awoke feeling very weak from hunger. Her throat was so raw it hurt
like blazes to swallow. Licking her parched lips, she could feel
the crusted scabs of dried blood. She tried to speak but her lips
tingled, burned and cracked again. Once more, she tried to speak.
Her voice came out like a croak and she tried to swallow the
burning cinder she believed was lodged in her throat. Feeling God
awful, she wished she had died instead of opening her painful eyes.
And to make matters worse, she saw that dreadful Indian looking
into her face. She moaned pitifully, closing her eyes and touching
her aching head.

“So you return to the living,” he said with a
trace of sarcasm.

“Aren’t you the observant one,” she snorted,
sassy-mouthed but refused to open her eyes, wishing it were all a
bad nightmare. Maybe he’d go away if she kept her lids shut tight.
But he didn’t go away and Hawk Nose spoke again, this time she
heard some tenderness in his voice. Her mind wasn’t right, she must
be hearing things. Rolling on her side she whispered, “Go
away…you’re just a bad dream,” she rasped. He touched her
forehead.

“Words are confusing, Moon Glow not
delirious. I no dream,” he groused.

He turned her back and shook her lightly. She
groaned again, his shaking not helping her pain.

“Open eyes. See I am here.”

Casey opened her eyes and blinked, still not
wanting to believe he was real. “Go away; I feel sick to my
stomach,” she groaned,” and turning over again and retched dry
heaves.

“Moon Glow need hot food in belly to get
well. I go into the snow. You know Apache can survive in zero
weather with hardly any clothes.”

“Well, goody for you!” she snapped and she
heard him mutter in Athabscan. She was certain they were not love
words.

TWENTY-SIX

Blake lost track of the days he had been
tracking the deranged red skin’s horse. Over and over the horrible
story that his cousin confessed to him plagued his mind. He knew
his life would mean nothing without her and he swore that when he
caught up to them he’d kill Hawk Nose for all the pain he had
inflicted on everyone, now and in the past. His only hope for
Casey’s safety was that the Indian continued to think he had
captured Moon Glow.

Thinking about that buck putting his hands on
her made his skin crawl.

Blake wrapped himself in the fur blanket his
cousin insisted he take. He was grateful as wind and snow whipped
around his cold body. His mind worried knowing Casey was clad only
in an Indian dress and moccasins. Snow had come earlier than
expected and he prayed that she and the Indian found a warm place
to stay. He cringed many times at the thought of coming across her
frozen body somewhere. Though frustrated since losing all signs of
them when the first snow dusted the hard ground, he was sure where
they were headed and he’d find them or die trying.

Checkers worked its way against the stinging
wind. As the trail climbed, the horse’s hooves picking their way up
through snow-covered rocks, Blake filled his thoughts with the
memory of their night of love that seemed ages ago. Still feeling
the way her flesh responded to his touch and the images of her
lovely body kept his blood stirred, keeping his bones warm. The
thought of the sweet smell of her womanly body made his heart ache
for her, even now. He’d be damned if he’d let anyone take her from
him.

The higher they climbed, the deeper the snow
drifts became and he knew he’d have to leave Checkers behind, it
was getting to slippery on the trial. He found a ledge where he
built a fire from pine needles and ticks that were not wet with
snow. It took awhile to get the fire started and he prayed his
matches would last. He didn’t want to have to rub two sticks
together, never having quite mastering the art, though he had tried
many times.

His father might argue the point that he
never raised a fool, but Blake always carried a supply of sulfur
sticks in his saddlebags, even though he didn’t smoke. Hearing his
stomach rumble, he ate the last piece of dried buffalo meat, never
thinking he’d get used to eating the beast. It was tough, but it
sufficed. A wolf howled and he shivered hoping it kept its
distance. Checkers sidestepped and whinnied. Blake assumed the
horse was thinking the same thing.

“Hey, old boy, the feeling is mutual. I don’t
want to be any critter’s meal either. I’m depending on you to stay
awake so I can get some shut eye.” The horse snorted and Blake
placed his hat over his face and closed his weary eyes. He trusted
Checkers with his life. What other option did he have?

After a short rest, his hope of finding them
in the mountains was slim but he kept looking behind every rock and
into caves he stumbled upon. He hoped that they were holed up in
one somewhere. His horse was left behind that morning; he decided
to climb the mountain by foot. Cautiously, he checked his footing
on the narrow ledge of the slopes. The higher he traveled, the
thinner the air seemed to get making him draw in deep, labored
breathes. He was tried, hungry, frozen like an icicle and damn
irritated. But his anger kept him going.

As he climbed over a large rock he saw
movement to the right, but thinking it was just a wild animal, he
paid no attention. Then he saw the bright colors of the headband
against the white of the snow. Ducking back behind the boulder, he
waited. Upon hearing the crunching of the footprints, he slowly
drew his gun, cocked it, then waited, shivering behind a rock. He
watched as a rabbit foolishly poked his nose out of its hole. With
the swiftness of an arrow, the Indian’s blade found its mark.

By Moon Glow’s description, he had no doubt
that it was Hawk Nose.

Retrieving his knife, the brave wiped it
clean in the snow and picked up the dead thing by its long ears.
The foolish Indian left a bloody trail to the cave, but Blake
suspected Hawk Nose believed he was safe in the mountains. Upon
reaching the mouth of the cave, he called out to the unsuspecting
Indian.

“If you harmed her, I’ll skin you like an
animal!” his voice cut like whiplash.

It was silent. Blake’s patience was
exhausted and he crept forward with his knife raised for the kill.
Hawk Nose turned and lunged at him. He was not suspecting the
swiftness of the red man and the blade found a mark. But he was
lucky, for his own quick sidestep saved him from being wounded in
the chest. Instead, the blade dug across his upper arm. The pain
made him stumble back into the snow, but not before he fired a shot
which hit Hawk Nose right in the heart. The Indian was dead before
he fell onto him.

It took a few minutes for Blake to push the
brave’s dead weight from off him. He cursed, feeling his arm burn
and noticing he was covered with the Indian’s blood. Believing his
wound was not too deep, he looked at his torn sleeve. His jacket
was fur lined and its thickness had kept him from being seriously
wounded. Holding his arm, he entered the cave not believing that he
had been that close all night. He waited until his eyes adjusted to
the dimness before he spotted the small fire, but his heart
stopped, he didn’t see anyone else.

Blake searched the cave and noticed a small
form huddled near the wall. Casey was making gasping and moaning
sounds and he didn’t like what he heard, but he had found her and
she was alive. With quickened steps, he was by her side and turned
her over. Casey’s eyes were squeezed shut and she tried to push him
from her. Still not looking at him, she struggled, but he held her
and refused to let go.

“Damn, you son-of-a-bitch! Can’t you see that
I’m still sick?” she groused in a tart voice.

She looked like hell, but she was still
kicking and her curses were sugar to his ears. “You are indeed an
enigma,” he answered. “Casey, open your eyes, it’s me… Blake.”

Casey heard the familiar, deep soothing
voice, but she thought she must be delirious. Had the fever melted
her brain to mush? Refusing to see the truth, she squeezed her lids
tighter.

“Go away…you can’t fool me,” she intoned,
exasperated. “Go away I said, or I’ll vomit over you the next
time.” She knew her threat was hollow; she had nothing in her
stomach. She heard the chuckle and the smug laugh jolted her eyes
open. She’d know that laugh anywhere. Blake and his blood soaked
jacket knelt in front of her.

“Oh, Blake! It’s really you?” Then she
gasped. “You’re shot!” The room spun.

Blake was shot. Was she
hallucinating? He must be dead. No, she’s dead.
No
…
it was the
fever. This wasn’t happening. They’re both dead.

She squeezed her eyes shut tight hoping to
block out the image. Her thoughts were in a frenzy, but one thing
she was sure of; she’d never open her eyes again. Even when she
felt the gentle tapping on her cheek, she remained obstinate until
liquid was poured on her face. She sputtered and struck out at him
blindly, cursing once more. Before Casey opened her eyes, she could
feel him kissing her flush face over and over.

“I’m sorry I frightened you, sweetheart. I’m
all right and I’m really here. Please open your eyes for me, we’re
both all right. It was Hawk Nose’s blood on my jacket. I killed
him. Look.”

Slowly Casey opened her eyes. His words spun
around in her foggy brain; she blinked, seeing his handsome face.
He loosened his grip on her and pointed to his chest. “See, no
blood. It was on my coat. Look, I’m not hurt. I forgot I was
covered with that damn Indian’s blood; no wonder you were
hysterical.”