My Savage Heart (The MacQuaid Brothers) (5 page)

“Don’t you?” Caroline sounded skeptical. “Since Charles Town you’ve been trying to scare me away.” The realization hit Caroline sometime during the long sleepless night. “You’ve done everything you could to make marrying your father seem ill-advised. First in Charles Town. Now here with this talk of war. I wonder if any of it is true.”

That he made no response both angered and emboldened her. Caroline let go of the chair and moved toward him. “I received a post from your father before I left England. In it he said nothing of danger. Nothing of Indian wars.” Nothing about a half-blooded son. But Caroline didn’t mention that. “I think you knew I was listening last night, and you exaggerated all this to persuade me to return to England.”

“Why would I do that?” His voice was low, his dark face expressionless.

Compared to her own emotional state his apparent calm and reasonableness rankled. When she heard him walk past her room earlier this morning, Caroline decided a confrontation was needed. Not that she enjoyed them. Most of her life was spent trying to smooth out the ruffles of her existence. However, she’d known Raff MacQuaid only one day and already he shadowed her waking hours and invaded her dreams.

She expected him to vehemently deny that he wished her gone, or to confess all in a fit of anger. But he did neither, only studied her with those dark, intense eyes. Caroline paced past him, then turned. “I don’t know why,” she confessed. She’d pondered the question most of the night. “Perhaps you... perhaps you dislike your father.”

As she moved back to face him, his hand shot out, manacling her wrist so quickly Caroline barely had time to gasp. “How I do or do not feel about my father has naught to do with warning you about the dangers of the frontier.”

His grip held her firmly, inched her closer. Fighting him was futile. Caroline concentrated instead on swallowing, trying to slow her breathing. “You aren’t going to scare me away.”

Wolf wasn’t certain if she meant from the Carolinas or from the dining room, but looking at the determined expression on her face, he believed her. His fingers tightened as he stood.

He was overwhelming, large and powerful, looming over her. “I can’t go back.” Caroline looked up at him willing him to understand, nearly telling him of the necessity that drove her to the New World.

But she said nothing more, for it was then she realized he planned to kiss her. Slowly his face came closer till his breath wafted across her cheek. Somewhere in the back recesses of her mind Caroline knew she should resist. But the temptation not to was too great. Her eyes drifted shut. Her heart pounded. Anticipation made her light-headed.

“I know you’re an early riser, Raff, but this is ridiculous.” Rebecca breezed into the room, stopping abruptly when she saw Caroline. Her gaze slipped to Raff, who had resettled in his chair.

Caroline leaned against the table, one hand flattened on her chest, her cheeks burning. Had she really almost kissed her future stepson? Or had she imagined the entire incident? Except for the warmth of her wrist where he’d held her, she might believe that her mind was playing fanciful tricks on her. Raff was busy chewing cornbread, seemingly oblivious to her.

He took a swig of milk, swallowed and flashed Rebecca a lazy grin. “What are you doing up and about so early? To hear your father tell it, you rarely grace your family with your presence till afternoon.”

“Oh, pooh.” Completely ignoring Caroline, Rebecca pulled a chair closer to Raff. “I wake up when I’m ready.” She smiled. “And this morning I was ready.” She took a piece of cornbread off Raff’s plate and daintily nibbled a corner. Only then did she speak to Caroline. “Goodness, you look as if you barely slept. I hope the bed was to your liking.”

Caroline met her gaze then looked toward Raff. He simply lifted his dark brow. “I slept very well, thank you.” Caroline surprised herself with how steady her voice sounded.

“Well, you really must take care of yourself,” Rebecca continued. “Life on the frontier isn’t for everyone.”

“How would you know?” Wolf chuckled. “This is hardly the frontier.”

Rebecca’s pink lips formed a pout. “’Tis so. Why I have to travel an entire day to visit Charles Town.”

“Poor Rebecca.” Wolf tweaked her nose as he stood.

“What about poor Rebecca?” George Walker entered the dining room, buttoning a brightly colored silk coat. A matching cap rested askew on his head.

“She’s bemoaning her life in the wilds of South Carolina.”

“Oh Raff, I was not.” Rebecca rose and took Raff’s arm. “I simply pointed out that not everyone is suited for hardships.” Her eyes slid toward Caroline, who could only imagine how true Rebecca must think her statement.

Caroline did appear ill-suited for life in any but the most civilized surroundings. But she would learn to survive in the frontier... because she must.

Less than an hour later they were on their way again. Raff rode ahead, followed by Caroline. The contents of her trunk—two gowns; several clean shifts; and hose—were transferred to saddlebags and now hung down the sides of both their horses. The packhorse and trunk were left behind at the Walkers. The new arrangement did seem to allow for a faster pace—which to Caroline’s way of thinking, wasn’t without drawbacks.

Her legs and back were still sore from the previous day, but she refused to make either an issue. Her resolve grew weaker as the day wore on.

Since the incident in the dining room, she and Raff had barely exchanged a score of words. The longer they went in this state of near quiet, the more uncomfortable Caroline became. They had never resolved the issue of Raff not wanting her here, but Caroline decided as they rode deeper and deeper into the Carolinas that it was a moot point. She
was
going to Seven Pines to marry his father.

“The land is very wild.” Caroline spurred her mare forward, gritting her teeth against the added abuse to her bottom. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen so many trees.” It was true, the path seemed to creep in on them from the sides, threatening to squeeze them toward the center.

Caroline watched as Raff turned in his saddle. Today he wore breeches of animal skin, buffed and molded to his powerful thighs. His shirt of the same material was loose and gathered at the waist by a belt that held his powderhorn. He looked as wild as the country.

He seemed to have left his manners behind with his silk clothes, for he only shrugged in a way that conveyed nothing.

Unexpectedly the path widened into a sandy lane dappled with sunshine. Caroline prodded her horse to ride abreast of his. “She’s lovely.”

“Who?”

She didn’t know why he was being so obtuse. “Why Rebecca Walker. She’s a beautiful young woman.”

His stare was disconcerting. “I’ve known her for years. She’s hardly more than a child.”

“I don’t think she considers herself one. And it didn’t seem to me that—”

“That what?”

“Well, that you considered her a child, either.”

“She initiated that kiss, Your Ladyship.”

“I didn’t mean...” Caroline couldn’t quite meet his gaze, and she couldn’t lie. The kiss was what she’d been thinking of. Just as Raff was getting ready to mount his horse, Rebecca Walker had stepped up to him. In front of Caroline and her father, she wove her arms around Raff’s neck. The kiss was long and sensual, and the vision of them standing there was still seared in her memory. It reminded her of the kiss she almost received from him. Caroline squirmed in the saddle. “I simply thought that you and she were... were...”

“Sweethearts?”

“Well, yes.” Caroline let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding and smiled.

His expression remained sober. “We aren’t.”

“Oh. I just thought—”

“Caroline.”

“Yes.” When he said her name like that it made her pulse race.

“I don’t need a mother.”

With that he urged his mount forward, ending the conversation... such as it was. Caroline looked down at her gloved hands, clutching the reins, not knowing what to think. Was she trying to act the part of a parent? To her mortification, her thoughts had been anything but maternal when Rebecca molded her body to his, or when she flirted unabashedly, or when her lips pressed to his.

Caroline shook her head, trying to dislodge those disturbing thoughts. She was making more of this than she should. He was rude. That was all. Or simply angry with her for deciding to ignore his advice and go to his father.

Or perhaps he knew what she was thinking when she saw the kiss between Rebecca and him. Caroline couldn’t help touching her heated cheeks.

It was past time to rest the horses. Not to mention Lady Caroline Simmons. Wolf twisted in the saddle and cast a glance her way. He could tell she was tired. But she didn’t complain. Damned if he didn’t have to give her credit for that. It occurred to him that she wasn’t as fragile as she looked, but he dismissed the thought. She was just angry with him and thus refusing to say anything.

And he could hardly blame her.

He wasn’t known for his jovial nature, but neither was he a complete bore. Especially when he was planning a seduction. But the seduction was causing his ill-humor.

And the ill-humor caused him to be careless. The man stepped from the shadow of the trees before Wolf even sensed he was near. Both horses started, neighing and stamping the ground with their front hooves. Wolf had no trouble calming his mount, but Caroline wasn’t so fortunate. He leaped from the saddle and grabbed for her reins, dodging the flailing legs of the mare.

Caroline felt herself slipping, and her fear of horses came jolting back. She’d tried to force those feelings from her mind but now they all but paralyzed her. By the time Raff quieted the horse and reached up for her, she slid willingly from the saddle into his arms. Her body trembled, and she did her best to fight the tears as she leaned into his broad chest. But it was as if a tiny dam broke, allowing emotions too long restrained to spew forth.

“I... can’t... ride. Afraid of horses.” Her words were punctuated by sniffles and hiccups. Some of them Wolf could make out, but not all. She looked up at him, her large eyes wet and prismed by tears, and Wolf felt an uncomfortable tightening in his chest.

These were not some dainty, feminine tears contrived to elicit a response from him. He doubted she thought of him at all as she ran through her litany of failures, continually mentioning someone named Ned. And he was damn certain she didn’t remember that Dayunisi stood not five rods away, watching the scene with amusement.

“Hush now, Caroline. You’re safe.” Wolf pulled her more tightly into his arms. Her straw hat had fallen off and his one hand cupped her head, tangling with the soft, pale gold curls. The other caressed her narrow back while over her head he stared at Dayunisi, his eyes daring the Cherokee to laugh at his predicament.

Control is what she needed. Somewhere in the back of her mind Caroline knew that. But exhaustion and fear muddled her thinking. And it was such a relief to be cradled in strong arms... to have someone to lean upon. But it was the wrong someone. Caroline knew that.

Slowly she pulled away, wiping her damp face with her gloved hands. “I apologize,” she whispered, unable to lift her eyes to look at him. “I don’t usually act this way.” He tried to pull her back closer to his body, and Caroline rebelled. “No, please, we shouldn’t...”

“Caroline.” Wolf lifted her chin with his finger. “We aren’t alone.”

“What? Oh, my goodness.” Caroline wasn’t sure whether it was embarrassment or fear that caused her to stay plastered to Raff’s side after she spun around. Standing just out of the shadows of a tree was a tall, fierce-looking Indian. His head was shaved except for a topknot that hung down his back similar to the Indians she saw in Charles Town. But unlike those men, who wore shirts and waistcoats, this one was nearly naked.

He said something Caroline didn’t understand, and Raff answered in the same guttural language. Giving her shoulders a reassuring squeeze, he moved toward the Indian. They walked together down the path, leaving Caroline with the horses.

“Why in the hell did you jump out in front of me like that?”

Dayunisi’s dark eyes narrowed. “I’ve followed you since the turn in the path. Didn’t Wa`ya hear my signals?”