Yellowstone Heart Song (Yellowstone Romance Series Book 1) (12 page)

“We’re both going to get hypothermic if we stay in these wet clothes,” she said, her teeth chattering. “And I bet you already know that,” she added. “Survival one-o-one.”

Daniel’s forehead wrinkled.

“I have a dry sweater in my pack, and I brought a blanket,” Aimee continued. “We can share the blanket and warm up.”

This time his eyebrows shot up. He still didn’t move or speak.

“Oh, for God’s sakes!” Aimee sucked in an impatient breath. “What is your problem? I don’t want to freeze to death just because you’re mad at me for leaving the cabin today without your permission.” All thought of acting like the frightened virgin went out the window at the moment.

“Close your eyes,” she said, and turned around as best she could in the small space, grabbed the bottom of her t-shirt and lifted it over her head. She had to turn to pull her sweater from her pack. Daniel hadn’t closed his eyes. She pulled the warm sweater on, smiling softly while her face remained hidden for a moment.
Typical male. Give them the opportunity, and they will always look.
Her heart beat a little faster at the prospect of snuggling up with Daniel to keep warm. So much for the boundaries she tried to set up the day before. This was a necessity for survival right now. Nothing more. She wasn’t going to let her emotions get the better of her.

Under different circumstances, in a different time, she would give anything to be with a man like Daniel. But she couldn’t afford to let herself get involved. She would be gone from here soon. Nothing could come of this.

She pulled the blanket from her pack. “I’m not sharing my blanket with a wet fish, so you’d better take off your shirt.”

Daniel wordlessly unbuckled his weapon belt to pull off his shirt.

“Don’t get any ideas, though. This is out of necessity. We’ll both be frozen popsicles in a few hours if we don’t keep each other warm. But that’s all this is, okay?”

Aimee unfolded the blanket and held it out to him. He frowned. He still hadn’t spoken. He scooted up behind her and wrapped the blanket around both of them. Aimee suppressed a groan. He felt nothing like a wet fish. His upper body radiated heat, and she let herself relax against his rock solid form. The strong rhythmic beating of his heart pounded through her sweater.

“We’re not going to make it back to the cabin today.” Daniel finally spoke softly near her ear, which sent shivers down her back that had nothing to do with the temperature. “Even if this storm lets up. We’ll head back at first light.”

He eased her down to the ground, and she pulled her backpack under her head for a pillow. The sounds of the crackling fire, and the raindrops hitting the soft undergrowth outside their little canopy, along with the heat coming off Daniel’s body, soon lulled her into a contented sleep. Her last thoughts as she drifted off to sleep was how completely safe she felt, nestled against this big woodsman’s side.

Chapter 10

Sleep did not come for Daniel. He wasn’t afraid of much, but this little slip of a woman scared the hell out of him. These insane feelings disturbed him. No one had ever affected him as she did. The worst of it was in knowing that nothing could ever come of this attraction. She was spoken for by another man, and besides, she did not belong in the wilderness.

Yes, he was angry with her for wandering off. He had never met a more stubborn and headstrong woman. How could he protect her and keep her safe if she didn’t listen to him?

He had told himself he was not going to do anything as foolish as what he had done the day before, and make Aimee feel like he wanted to have his way with her. Of course, that’s exactly what he wanted, but he would not let his emotions get out of control again. Suggesting that they needed to remove their clothing might frighten her again, and he had been thinking of a tactful way to suggest this without causing her to be alarmed. So he’d been quite surprised when she was the one to bring it up.

A hot wave of desire had swept over him at the sight of her nearly nude body. Her breasts were covered by one of those odd white undergarments that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. He’d cursed silently. Somehow the cold seemed the preferable choice. Being near her like this was sure to be the death of him.

Aimee stirred and moaned softly in her sleep. Daniel gently wrapped one arm around her, and pulled her close to him. He drew in a breath, and savored the sweet, flowery scent on her hair and skin. He was a coward and no better than a thief in the night, but at least while she slept he could enjoy just holding her in his arms.

She had been completely trusting of him tonight. He was determined not to lose that trust. And that meant he had to keep his hands off of her. He also had to figure out how to take her back to civilization, and from there, how to get her out of his mind. He sighed deeply. It was probably too late for that.

*****

Aimee woke to the delicious smell of meat roasting over a fire. She opened her eyes and raised herself to a sitting position. The cold morning air sent a chill through her, and she drew the blanket up around her shoulders. She buried her face in the fabric, inhaling Daniel’s woodsy scent.

“Mornin’,” Daniel smiled at her. He knelt by the fire, and turned a rabbit on a spit.

“Good morning.” She yawned. Glancing around, she squinted at the sun’s rays that streamed through the canopy of the trees. Countless birds chirped loudly, announcing that the storm had passed. The sky was blue and cloudless. Thick drops of moisture still clung to the tree branches all around.

She watched Daniel by the fire, and sighed. A warm fuzzy feeling spread from her center outward. Her heart began to ache. He had kept her warm and comfortable all night, and not once made an inappropriate move. This morning, he provided food. Yesterday, he had surely saved her life . . . again. When he wasn’t acting all dark and moody, he was by far the most wonderful man she had ever met.  And, she was falling fast and hard.

She swallowed repeatedly. How could this happen? The unfairness of it all. She could not get involved in a relationship that would only last a few months. She was going back to her time. Aside from that, Daniel was adamant about getting her out of the mountains. He held fast to the belief that this was no place for a white woman.  She buried her nose in the blanket and inhaled his scent one more time, then reluctantly pushed it aside and left her warm spot to head into the forest for some privacy.

When she returned, she ducked back under the branches to their camp, and Daniel handed her a piece of meat.

“Thank you,” she said. “I’m famished.”

“I wish I had brought that pie you made.” Daniel grinned.

“You liked that, huh?” Aimee said between mouthfuls.

“I did,” Daniel confessed. He already finished his meal, and put out the fire. “Are you ready to go?”

Aimee rolled up her blanket, and picked her shirt up off the ground. Thankfully it had dried in the night. Turning away from Daniel, she removed her sweater and pulled her t-shirt on and her sweater over it.

She found her brush in the backpack, and vigorously ran it through her hair. Daniel gathered his rifle, and ducked out from under the trees, and walked ahead. Aimee shouldered her pack, and ran to catch up to him. To stay even with his long strides, she had to walk fast.

“I want to apologize for yesterday,” she said slowly. “I promise I won’t leave again on my own. It was stupid of me, and I put you in danger.” She looked sideways up at him when he didn’t reply. She expelled a loud breath and leaned forward as she walked, trying to make eye contact.  “You can be mad at me, but please stop with the silent treatment.”

“I’m not angry anymore,” Daniel finally replied. “But I will not come looking for you again if you foolishly choose to wander off by yourself,” he added sternly, and met her eyes.

She nodded. “Fair enough.”

They crossed a meadow and reached the banks of the Firehole before Daniel spoke again. “When will you tell me how you came to be here? You claim to have been on your own, but if that were true, you would have been dead a long time ago.” He looked at her with raised brows.

Aimee groaned. “I already told you all you need to know,” she said firmly.
I want to tell you everything,
her mind screamed.

“You are either running away from your man, or else he has abandoned you. Perhaps you are ashamed for being abandoned?” Daniel prodded. “Is that why you won’t tell me the truth?”

Aimee shook her head. What could she say? If he wanted to believe she had been abandoned, maybe that was a convenient enough story to keep him from asking questions that she couldn’t possibly answer. Her eyes roamed the landscape further ahead, and she enjoyed listening to the rushing sound of water from the river. Steam rising from heat vents near the water’s edge created a surreal atmosphere when the hot vapors mixed with the crisp ambient air. 

“Your man is a fool,” Daniel said harshly.

Aimee simply wished he would change the subject. But her heart skipped faster at Daniel’s words.

“Where did you learn to write?” Daniel prodded further. “Only wealthy men have the means to educate their daughters.”

“So now you think I’m wealthy?” Aimee asked, grateful for a new topic.

“It would seem so,” Daniel affirmed. “You’ve obviously had tutoring. And your hands are those of a gentle woman. They have not had to do much work.”

Aimee stared at her hands, rotating them to view her palms and fingers. She’d done plenty of work. What was he talking about?

“I went to college in New York,” she blurted before thinking. She cringed.
Damn me and my big mouth.

“College?” Daniel laughed. “Women don’t go to college.”

“What I meant was I was educated at a college level by my tutor,” she backpedaled.

“There is no need for a woman to have such an education.”

She shot him an annoyed look. “Are you serious? And why not? Why can’t a woman have an education, same as a man?” The little voice inside her head tried to remind her what century she was in.

****

 Daniel chuckled. The idea of an educated woman was rather intriguing, although during the time he spent in Philadelphia, he’d heard of only a few seminaries that offered the means to higher learning to women. Emma certainly hadn’t been interested in anything that didn’t have to do with the latest fashion or the next big social event. 

Remembering Aimee’s angry reaction from a few days ago, he couldn’t help himself but fuel the fire some more. “What would a woman need schooling for?” he asked. “White men in the east say that women don’t have the intellect for advanced studies.”

“Is that what you think?” Aimee raised her voice.

He smiled inwardly. Her reaction was just as he’d predicted.

“Well, let me tell you something, Daniel.” She glared at him. “Not all women are stupid wall flowers who need a man to take care of them. Some women like to make their own decisions in life, and not be dictated to by a man.”

“And you consider yourself among those women who do not need a man to take care of you.” He couldn’t hide the amusement in his voice. “This is why you ran away from your betrothed.”

Aimee let out an audible sigh. “Ultimately, yes, that’s why I ran away,” she snapped. “He’s nothing but a controlling jerk, and I had enough. I can’t see myself in a marriage where I’m not an equal partner, and where my husband makes all the decisions for me.”

Daniel didn’t know what a jerk was, but it didn’t sound like a compliment.

“Don’t you want to find a rich husband? Isn’t that what all women want?” he finally asked. Emma’s face flashed before his eyes.

“Money doesn’t buy happiness,” Aimee retorted. “Brad comes from a well-off family, and he’s going to make tons of money as a surgeon, but he’s not the man I want to marry. There are things more important to me than wealth.”

He kept silent for some time. Hearing her say she didn’t want to marry the man she was promised to lightened his heart. Ultimately, though, she might not have a choice in the matter. 

“Where is your family?” he finally asked. He couldn’t wrap his mind around a woman all alone in the wilderness. Her family wouldn’t have let her go on her own, would they?

“I don’t have a family. My parents were killed in a car…carriage accident. I have no brothers or sisters. The closest I have to a family is my roommate, Jana Evans.”

“Room mate?”

“Another independent, free-thinking woman I live with,” Aimee said. Her face lit up in a bright smile.

“Two unmarried women living together?” He raised his eyebrows. “Is she your appointed guardian?”

“No, we’re the same age.”

“So you are both spinsters.”

“Why would you consider me a spinster? That sounds like I’m some gray-haired old woman in a rocking chair.”

“You seem past the usual age when a woman marries.”

“Excuse me? I’m only 23!”

Daniel perused her out of the corner of his eye for a moment. He had guessed her to be no older than twenty years, well past the age a young woman would have been married off. Again, the flawless skin on her hands and face made her look much younger, and supported his notion that she was a woman from a high social class.
Just the type of woman to stay away from
.

“Any woman would consider herself a spinster at that age if she wasn’t married. But then I forget.” His lips curved in a smile. “You are a rare woman who doesn’t need a man.”

****

 Aimee inhaled deeply.
This is not the twenty-first century, you idiot
! She needed to change the subject fast before she continued to stick her foot in her mouth. Her gaze drifted to several river otters at play. They darted onto the banks, then scurried back into the water, diving and rolling through the current with ease. 

Finally, she asked, “and what about you? Why don’t you have a wife?” Zach had told her plenty about Daniel, but nothing about his personal life.

Daniel’s face sobered. It took him a while before he answered. “I’ve had no desire to be tied to a woman. I have not met one who would lead the kind of life I do.”

“What about the Tuku . . ? How do you say the name of the tribe you’re friends with?”

“Tukudeka,” Daniel supplied.

“Tukudeka. Isn’t there anyone you’re interested in?” Did she really want to know the answer?

“Morning Fawn was to be my wife,” Daniel said without emotion. “She drowned two summers ago, before we were married.”