This Savage Heart (14 page)

A troop had been dispatched to ride as far as Fort Bowie with the ten wagons that remained of the train. But when they reached the tiny settlement of Hachita, a messenger from Fort Bliss caught up with them, bearing orders that the escort soldiers were to return to El Paso at once. Commanches had attacked some farms, and a major uprising was feared. Every man was needed. So, with apologies to Captain Arnhardt and the others, military command called its troops back. They couldn’t be spared to guard fewer than forty people.

It was a densely overcast morning when Captain Arnhardt assembled his people in Hachita’s small general store. He stood before the fireplace, a hole dug out against one wall and a crude mud-and-clay chimney jutting up through the thin, planked roof. Shelves lined two walls, stocked mostly with dirt, cobwebs, and bugs that had frozen to death looking for food. A splintered counter ran the length of the other wall. It was cluttered with dirty glasses, sticky with last night’s beer. The store served as a gathering place for the menfolk, since there was no gambling hall or saloon.

As the men filed in, Derek saw that some had brought their wives, though he always meant these meetings for men only. No matter. They would all hear what he was going to say soon enough. As his eyes swept over them, he felt pity, even for the troublemakers, like Elisa Thatcher. Her expression was harsher than usual, and he didn’t have to wonder why. No driver had been found in El Paso, and there was nothing to do but insist she get rid of all the things she was hauling, along with her wagon and team, and move in with another family. After much arguing, she’d agreed to dispose of the wagon and horses, but she vehemently refused to part with what she called her precious heirlooms. She obtained the promise of a merchant to store all the boxes and crates and barrels, but Derek doubted she would ever see any of them again. They had probably all been on the auction block before their wagon train left town. Poor Elisa. No matter. He had more important things to worry about. And he knew the real reason for her bitchy behavior. “Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.” He’d known the truth of that all his adult life. Elisa felt he had scorned her in favor of Julie. But he’d never loved Elisa. Why, he wondered for probably the hundredth time in his life, did a woman expect a man to fall in love with her forever and always just because they’d shared a few hours of passion?

Derek’s gaze fell on Colby and Louella Bascomb, and he wondered who was tending the four kids they had left. They had started out with six, and two had died of a raging fever back in the Monahans Sandhills. At the two pitiful graves, which would soon be erased by the shifting sands, Colby and Louella had tearfully said it was God’s will. They would keep their faith and go on.

Derek was not a religious man. Sure, there was a supreme being, Someone or Something, who helped call the shots from Somewhere, but he figured the way things went in life was pretty much up to himself. The Someone or Something would take over when it was his turn to be lowered into a grave, and he would worry about it then. The only faith he worried about was the faith he had in himself. And never had he felt it strained more than it was now.

He overheard Daughtry Callahan tell someone that his wife was still feeling poorly after the birth of their third child four weeks before. Derek softly cursed. Why did women have to get pregnant at the worst possible times? He looked at Myles and Teresa, huddled together off to one side. She looked damned awful, like a rag someone had wrung too hard. Every time he saw her, she looked bigger and sicker. Hell, he and Julie were just damn lucky that she wasn’t in the same shape. But maybe it wasn’t luck. Maybe it was that Someone or Something smiling down, because life had treated them both so harshly for the last four years.

He caught Julie’s eye, and his heart warmed at the sight of her. Yes, life had kicked them in the gut, but they were going to make it one day.

Derek shook his head. He was letting personal desires run away with him, willing to yield his concentration to anything besides having to tell these brave, stout-hearted people what it looked like they were up against.

Frank Toddy yelled, “What’s this all about, Captain? We thought we was gonna move out today.”

Taking a deep breath, Derek began, and because of his blunt way, he seemed downright cold, though that wasn’t really the truth of it. Arnhardt informed them there would be no military escort across the border. He sharply advised any family afraid to continue without the patrol to return with the soldiers to El Paso and wait for the next wagon train, which might be larger, or might have an escort. He was brutally honest in describing the threat of Indian attack, and he also pointed out that there were risks with even more people, more wagons. If they were attacked, the Indians could number in the hundreds. All he could tell them was that he would do his damn best to get them through. After all, since leaving Brunswick, they had known the possibility of Indian trouble existed.

They had, he assured them, plenty of guns and ammunition. If attacked, they would try to scare off the Indians by putting every man, woman, and child at the trigger of a gun. They were heading straight through Chiricahua country, about a week’s ride from Fort Bowie. With luck, they would reach the fort and obtain an escort into Tucson. From there, he was hopeful the rest of the way would be relatively safe. But there was much open country. Spring would arrive soon, and with good weather, they could make better time. The decision to continue or turn back rested with each individual family. However, those who continued would not find a sympathetic ear for any regrets, no matter what happened to them. He was giving them a chance to change their minds. He ended by recounting everything he knew about current Indian troubles. It involved a great deal of shocking information, touching on many Indian tribes.

Then he took a long pause and said, “I’m going forward. Those who wish to go with me are welcome. To those who wish to turn back, I bid you good luck.”

The meeting broke up so that everyone could talk privately.

A short while later, in Myles’s wagon, Derek looked at Myles, Teresa, and Julie. His eyes were probing, his demeanor that of a man in the throes of deep concern for those he cared about most. Gravely, he said, “I told the truth. There is danger. Real danger. We may get through all right…or we may be attacked. If we are attacked there is a chance we can scare the Indians off—if they don’t have guns and there happen not to be too many of them. There is also the very real chance that we may be massacred.”

Myles quickly turned to face Teresa. “I think we should go back and wait. You say you figure the baby is due in about two months. We can go back to El Paso and I’ll find some kind of work to get us through till after the baby is born. That way, you can even have a real doctor. Then, when you get your strength back, we’ll join the next wagon train.” He scanned her face, hoping she agreed.

Teresa looked at him as though she had never seen him before. Aghast, she cried, “Go back? To what? We have no home. You can’t be sure you would find work! No, Myles, no!” She shook her head firmly, resolutely. “We can build a cabin. We can still get in a late crop this year and have food for next winter. But most of all, I want my baby born in Arizona, in our new home, and I want to get there as soon as possible. God is going to see us through this, Myles. I know He is.” She reached to clutch his hand, tears trailing down waxen cheeks. “Please don’t ask me to turn back.”

Myles looked to Julie.

“I agree,” Julie said to him. “She’s right. We’ve come too far to turn back. Have a little faith, Myles.”

Derek had reached his limit. Oh, he would go on if need be, guiding those who had signed on in Brunswick to the destination they had been promised. He wasn’t about to back out, no matter what the danger was. He was no coward. But neither was he a fool. Would he let the woman he loved and the family she cherished continue on when the dangers were so great? Hell, he’d dance a jig if everybody on the caravan would turn around and head east till things cooled down.

“You’re fools,” he declared hotly. “I’ve got a mind to turn everyone back!”

Julie started to protest, but Teresa was quicker. “You can’t do that!” she cried, leaning forward. “You signed papers saying you wouldn’t quit, that you’d see us through all the way. You can’t do that, and you won’t. I know you better than that.”

“With prudence,” he reminded, holding up his hand. “Reasonable judgment. If I think it’s too dangerous to continue, I have the right to turn back.”

Julie moved toward him. “Derek, don’t do that just because you’re worried about the three of us. It isn’t fair to the others. The Indians have been making trouble for years. Who’s to say it won’t take many more years before there’s peace? Don’t you see? We have to continue.”

He looked at her, then at Teresa, and then at Myles. “We move out in one hour, those who’re coming. Be ready.”

Shoving aside the canvas, he saw several men waiting for him. He frowned. There was nothing to do but spar with them over the situation. He’d be damned if he’d make up their minds for them.

Giving Myles and Teresa a chance to be alone to come to terms over the situation, Julie climbed down out of the wagon. She looked warily toward the sky and saw huge gray clouds over the jutting mountains. There was a sharp, damp smell in the air. They were in for either snow or sleet.

Only one man was talking with Derek. Tyler Ford. He shook Derek’s hand, nodded, then turned and walked away.

Derek saw her and came over. “Everyone wants to continue,” he said matter-of-factly, staring down at her lovely face.

She smiled. With a wink, he hurried away.

Julie went to the Webber wagon, where she found Esther packing up her cooking utensils and dousing their breakfast fire. “Esther, may I speak with you a minute?” she asked politely.

Esther looked at her curiously, puffing herself up a bit. She always felt important when someone asked her advice. “Of course, dear. How can I help you?”

“It’s Teresa. I’m worried about her, and I don’t even know if I should be. I’ve never had a baby. But she just doesn’t look right. Have you noticed anything?”

“I’ll say,” Esther pronounced solemnly. She tossed out the dregs of coffee, then dipped the pot into a bucket of water and rinsed it out. “Teresa’s much bigger than she should be at this stage. I know she’s a tiny thing, so she’d show more than most, but it’s not normal for her to fatten up as fast as she has.”

“She seems so tired, too,” Julie said worriedly, “and her color isn’t good.”

“Hmph,” Esther snorted. “You’d be tired, too, if you were hauling that much weight around all day. You know what I think? I think she’s going to have twins.”

“Twins?” Julie echoed, stunned.

“Yep.” Esther laughed again. It felt good to shock this young woman with her vast knowledge of life. “Myles was a twin, as you should know best. And it runs in families, don’t it? Yep.” She nodded vigorously, enjoying her moment. “Teresa is carrying two babies.”

Julie was trying to absorb the shocking possibility when, eyes glittering, Esther went on, “Want to know something else? Twins come early. Never heard of nobody yet that went to term with twins. I wonder if Teresa has figured it out yet. She should, what with two babies kicking and wiggling around inside her.”

“I hope she hasn’t,” Julie cried then, “and please, I must ask you not to say anything to her about it. It would only make her worry. None of us needs any added worries now.”

Esther stiffened with resentment at the very idea. This young girl thought she would do something so tactless? “Of course I won’t say anything,” she said indignantly. “It’s no concern of mine, anyhow. I got my own family to look after.”

And the business of everyone else on the wagon train, Julie thought in annoyance. She had hated asking Esther, but she’d known of nobody else who would understand Teresa’s problem. And, Julie worried, Esther might be right about the twins. But there was nothing to be done. Teresa wouldn’t turn back to El Paso even if she knew she was expecting two babies. Her mind was made up, and a little while ago Julie had seen a stubborn side to Teresa that she hadn’t known existed.

Praying that Esther would keep their conversation private, Julie returned to Myles’s wagon to help get ready for the day’s journey.

Esther finished cleaning the breakfast things, then hurried to Louella Bascomb’s to tell her that Teresa Marshall was expecting twins.

Moss-covered rocks surrounded them, a cradle provided by nature. The air was spicy with evergreens jutting from hills above. Chaparrals clumped at the entrance rendered the deserted coyote den private. The night was cold, but in their quiet, secret world, no discomfort intruded.

Derek drew Julie’s smooth, naked body against him, one hand firmly on the back of her neck as his lips claimed hers, tongue exploring the delicious, sweet pink mouth. Hot fingertips trailed across her to tantalize, then sweetly pinch, eager nipples that quickened and begged for more.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Derek’s finger danced downward to caress her gently heaving belly. As he parted her thighs, she moved her mouth from his, pressing her lips against his thick throat to stifle her moans of anticipation.

He pressed his palm over her pubic mound, massaging in a rhythmic, grinding motion, feeling her moisture on his hand. Expertly, he opened her, seeking and finding that center of ecstasy.

“No,” she moaned, reaching to clutch his wrist as he chuckled. She did not want it now, not this way. The pinnacle must be reached with him inside her, all of him, or as much as she could take, and she had never been able to receive all of him. No woman could, for he was too gloriously endowed.