Candace McCarthy (3 page)

Amelia saw her father’s face as he ministered to Mary Black’s hand, and recognized a happiness in his expression that she’d not seen in a long time. Later, when she men-
tioned it to him, he’d looked at her and admitted that he felt he could do more good in this remote area than he ever could in a city the size of Baltimore, Maryland, where people rarely appreciated the assistance he gave them, while others treated him as their personal physician, becoming angry when he wasn’t immediately available for their sole use.

“As if I was a possession instead of a human being,” her father said.

Amelia placed her hand on her father’s shoulder. “I never realized they treated you that way.”

There was new spring to John Dempsey’s step, a new interest in life. Amelia thought that it was worth giving up their comfortable lifestyle in Baltimore to see the utter contentment on her father’s face.

If it was rough on Amelia to make the adjustment to a life that was much different than the one she’d left behind, she didn’t mind it at all. She missed her sister and wondered how she was doing. She missed Aunt Bess and the gruff woman’s warm, generous affection. But she was here with her father, and her love for him and her enjoyment of working beside him overshadowed the sadness of leaving her old life behind.

“Amelia,” her father called from the front room, “do we have any camphor? I can’t find it.”

She entered the infirmary and went right to the appropriate shelf in the cabinet. If it were any closer to her father, it would have jumped up and bitten him.

“Right there, was it?” John said with a smile. He patted his daughter’s arm awkwardly. “What would I do without you, daughter?”

Amelia grinned. “I don’t know, Father, but I suspect you’d manage to get along just fine … just as you’d done before you married Mother.”

A look of sadness entered John’s deep brown eyes. “Wonderful woman, your mother. I miss her.”

“She looked like Rachel does now, didn’t she, Father?” Which meant she was not only a kindhearted woman, but a beautiful one as well.

John nodded. “But you’ve got her heart, girl.” He smiled as he reminisced. “Such a kind and giving heart it is, too.”

Yet I haven’t found a man more interested in a kind heart than a pretty face,
Amelia thought.

“It looks like we need a few supplies, Father. I’ll take Miriam with me to Keller’s Outpost.” She glanced around the otherwise tidy room and was satisfied that everything was as it should be. “Will you be needing me this morning or shall I go ahead and leave with Miriam?”

“Go, daughter. I’ll be fine here alone.” His gaze held genuine affection. “See if Jack has any of that maple syrup he let us taste the last time we were in.”

Amelia nodded. “Anything else?”

“I could use another one of these,” he said as he held a pair of forceps. “Find out from Daniel Trahern how much it’ll cost for him to make one of these for me.”

Amelia stiffened. “He’s probably extremely busy,” she hedged. She didn’t want to talk to Daniel Trahern; she didn’t even want to see him. Her father was making it difficult for her to escape both things.

“Just get a price then, girl. I don’t need it tomorrow.”

There was nothing she could do but agree to visit the blacksmith. Unless she could ask Miriam to run the errand while she herself ordered supplies from Jack.

Amelia’s spirits brightened. Miriam wouldn’t mind taking care of that unpleasant matter for her.

But, later, as she spoke with Miriam, it seemed that the young woman was too busy to accompany Amelia to the
post. The journey to the post wasn’t a particularly long one. Amelia could certainly make it alone.

She scowled. Now the task of conferring with Daniel Trahern lay firmly within Amelia’s hands.

It was a beautiful, warm day without a cloud in the sky. With a young missionary’s help, Amelia readied the wagon for the journey to the trading post. Besides their own supplies, there were a few items Amelia needed to purchase for some of the missionaries, including Will Thornton, the young man who helped her hitch the horse to the wagon—a smaller conveyance than the one she and her father had brought to the mission.

Amelia knew she’d have no trouble with the vehicle; she had driven the larger one on their way there. As for the journey to the post, there was a direct road from Keller’s to the mission. It was a short simple trip, during which Amelia knew she wouldn’t get lost.

With a wave at Will, Amelia left the mission, taking the dirt road that meandered through the forest toward the trading post and Trahern’s Blacksmithy. She enjoyed the scenery as she drove. It was such a lovely time of year— not too hot, not cold. The trees were a lush shade of green. The sky was so blue and the sun so bright they nearly hurt her eyes. Amelia gave no thought to any dangers along the way. She didn’t worry about encountering Indians, soldiers, or worse. The day was too bright and cheerful; such dark thoughts were dismissed as soon as they occurred to her.

When she pulled the wagon before the trading-post
building and climbed down from the seat, she noticed that someone had tied a couple of horses to the rail of the trading post’s front porch. Amelia secured her own horse, then entered the log structure.

Once her eyes had adjusted to the dark, she saw Jack Keller, who waved to her as she came in. Smiling in return, she left Jack to finish with his customer while she wandered about the post. She picked out the items her father wanted, then chose the things that Miriam, Will, and the other missionaries requested. She smiled at Jack as she approached several times and placed the selected items on the counter. She felt a prickling along her spine, knew she was being watched, but refused to meet the other customer’s gaze.

After a time, the stranger’s obvious stare made her angry, and she glanced his way. She controlled a grimace as she took note of his appearance then quickly averted her gaze. He was a dirty, grubby fellow with unkempt hair, a scruffy beard, a large nose, and small eyes. She experienced a shiver of revulsion as he shifted closer and she caught a whiff of some horrible smell.

“Jack,” the man said, “ain’t you gonna introduce us?”

Amelia shot Jack a wary look. Jack, catching it, understood immediately. “Not in your life, Kertell. This here is a lady, too good for the likes of you.”

Amelia didn’t hear the man’s reply as she moved to put distance between the malodorous man and herself. Finally, she heard Jack bidding the man farewell, and she was able to approach the counter.

“Thanks,” she said.

Jack smiled. “My pleasure. Kertell did not seem like someone you wanted to know.”

“You thought correctly.” She pretended to shudder. “Who is he?”

“Name’s Thomas Kertell. He’s a fur trapper. Comes to the post regularly, about every three to four weeks.”

“Are there others like him? People who come here to trade once a month or so?” she asked.

Jack shrugged his shoulders. “Few trappers, some Indians, and a couple of soldiers.”

Amelia saw a gleam in his eyes. “You’re teasing me.”

“Just a little.”

“A lot,” she insisted.

He grinned. “All right. A lot.” He pushed her gathered items in a pile on one side of the counter. “What else do you need?”

She gave Jack her list, and he helped her select all the necessary items. After she settled up, he assisted her in carrying the goods out to the wagon.

“Thank you, Mr. Keller,” she said.

He smiled. “You are very welcome, Miss Dempsey.”

Amelia became aware of Daniel Trahern watching from the open door to his shop across the road. Her heart beat a rapid tattoo as she looked at him, then glanced quickly away. She sensed his continued stare as Jack helped her climb up onto the wagon seat and as she drove the vehicle away.

She glanced back once, saw that he was still watching her, and felt a warm fluttering in the pit of her stomach.

What was it about the man that made her feel as awkward as a young girl?

She scowled. It was a certainty that she and Daniel would cross paths again. There would be other encounters. How could there not be when the comforts of life depended on the tools and other metal objects of necessity that he alone in this wilderness created?

She drove the vehicle into the forest and tried to appreciate the beauty of her surroundings, but her mind kept
returning to Daniel Trahern and how uncomfortable he’d made her feel. There was one item on her list she hadn’t gotten. A small medical instrument for her father, one that only a blacksmith could make.

What excuse could she give her father if she returned to the mission without at least having ordered one made? That Daniel Trahern made her so nervous that she avoided him like the plague?

Amelia pulled on the reins to stop the horse. Then she steered the wagon back to Trahern’s Blacksmithy. She wasn’t going to let the man intimidate her! He was only a man after all.

A disturbing man,
she thought.
An attractive man.

Thomas Kertell came out from behind a copse of trees and cut off the wagon, making Amelia draw back on the reins to stop it. His abrupt appearance frightened her horse, and it took a few minutes for Amelia to calm the animal.

The filthy man was grinning at her when she’d finally gotten the horse under control.

Amelia eyed Kertell warily. “You could have caused an injury! What do you want, Mr. Kertell?”

The fur trapper beamed at her. “You know who I am. You must’ve been askin’ ‘bout me.”

She shook her head. “I didn’t ask. Jack Keller told me.”

The man’s tiny eyes narrowed. “What’d he have to say?”

“Just that you’re a fur trapper.”

He nodded. “A damn good one, too.”

“That’s nice,” she said. “Now if you’ll move your horse, so I can get through, I’d appreciate it.”

Kertell’s smile revealed missing and black teeth. “How much?”

“Excuse me?”

“I want to know how you’re gonna show your appreciation if I let you through?”

She scowled at him. “Let us not play games. Please move, so I can continue.”

His grin faltered. “In a bit. I thought maybe you and me can get better acquainted.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t have time. There are people waiting for me at the mission.”

He refused to move. “Why you heading back to the post then? Forget something at Jack’s?”

“At Daniel Trahern’s,” she answered calmly, although her heart had picked up its pace and her stomach was beginning to burn with apprehension. “Let me pass, Kertell.”

He shook his head as he nudged his mount closer to the wagon.

“If you don’t move, I’ll have to run you down.” Her hands shook on the reins, but Amelia knew she would do it if she had to. It was a matter of survival—hers.

The fur trapper blinked with surprise, then his lips curved into a slow smile of delight. “So ya wanna be difficult, eh?” He chuckled. “Go ahead and run me over. See if you can.”

Amelia stiffened for a brief moment. “Hiyah!” she shouted and slapped the leather reins against the hindquarters of the horse. The animal danced, then finally started to move. She knew the man could easily catch up with her, but she spurred the horse on, hoping to get back to the trading post where there was help.

She got about fifty yards, before Kertell was beside her. He hopped onto the wagon and jerked the reins from her hands. Amelia screamed and fought to shove him from the seat. Kertell cuffed her across the head with his fist. Her head spun, and Amelia saw stars. She nearly fell off
the wagon as she clutched her head and blinked to clear her vision. Kertell grabbed her and shoved her onto the wagon seat.

Amelia thought she heard Kertell trying to calm her horse, which was skittish. She got up and tried to push the man off the wagon. With a growl, he hit her again. She gasped as tears filled her eyes, and she blinked to clear them.

A gunshot ran out in the stillness of the forest. “Leave her alone and get off the wagon, Kertell!” a deep male voice commanded.

The fur trapper froze. “This ain’t your business, Trahern.”

Through a painful haze, Amelia saw the blacksmith.

“I’ve made it my business. She’s coming to see me,” Daniel said.

The stench of Kertell was awful. To Amelia, the man smelled of combined body odor, filth, and rancid animal fat.

Amelia’s head cleared, but continued to throb painfully. She saw Daniel Trahern about ten feet from the wagon. He had the barrel of a rifle aimed at Kertell’s head. His hard blue gaze never left the fur trapper for a second. Amelia wondered if the blacksmith was a good shot or if she should somehow get out of the way of the gun. She wasn’t afraid; somehow the appearance of Daniel Trahern had instilled a new calm. She had no doubt he would win this fight against the fur trapper. She knew instantly that Thomas Kertell would be no match for the blacksmith’s intelligence and wiry strength.

She sensed movement by the man beside her as Kertell’s hand inched slowly toward his waistband.

“Daniel! He’s got a weapon,” she cried, and threw herself off the wagon to put herself out of Kertell’s range.

Daniel tensed. Quick as a flash, Kertell had drawn his knife, but to his relief, Amelia was out of reach before the man could use it against her to gain his freedom.

With Amelia out of the way of harm, Daniel raised the gun barrel and clicked back on the trigger. “Drop the knife, Tom,” he said softly. “And don’t try to use it.”

At the outer margin of his vision, he saw Amelia struggle to get up from the ground. He didn’t go to her, as he wanted. He kept his gaze and his gun on Kertell.

Anger filled Daniel, making him want to teach the fur trapper a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget. He held his temper because Amelia was present.

“Get on your horse and ride out of here,” he told the fur trapper. “I’ll give you thirty seconds to move. If you’re not on your horse by then, I’ll blast a hole the size of a goose egg right through that soft head of yours.”

Amelia heard the deadly menace in Daniel’s voice and shivered. This was not a man one wanted as an enemy. Still, she moved away from the wagon toward him. She stayed out of the range of his rifle and well away from the invisible line between the two men. She should have felt threatened by Daniel’s anger, but she didn’t. She felt safe instead.

Thomas Kertell apparently understood the reality of Daniel’s threat. With frequent glances toward Daniel’s gun, he dropped his knife, slowly climbed off the wagon, and got on his horse.

With his gun still trained on the fur trapper, Daniel moved closer to the man’s horse. “Don’t come back, Kertell. Ever. Your presence and your business are no longer wanted here.”

“What?” The man looked furious. “Because of her? A female?”

Daniel’s eyes narrowed. “A lady, Kertell. The woman’s
a lady … not that you’ve ever come in contact with one before. You don’t mess with a lady, Tom.” He lifted his gun higher and sighted down the barrel with one eye. “I don’t see you moving, and your thirty seconds are up.”

“I’m going!” the trapper cried, suddenly nervous.

As Kertell turned the horse, Amelia saw the man’s hand move to his side. “Daniel, he’s got a gun!”

Kertell immediately released the weapon and raised his hands above his head in plain view. “Don’t take my gun, Daniel. You’ve already got my knife.” He shot Amelia a nasty look that made her feel chilled.

“Get a move on. If you’re gone before I count to three, I’ll think about letting you keep that gun and your life.”

“Can I have my knife?” Kertell knew when he’d been given a chance.

“One … two …”

The trapper kicked his mount and fled without his knife but with his rifle.

Amelia watched Kertell ride away, then closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief that he was gone. With a smile on her face, she turned to thank Daniel Trahern.

“Are you all right?” he asked gruffly as he approached her. His gaze seemed to catalog every inch of her from her hair, which was a mess, to her dirty face and hands, down to her shoes. Anger lit up Daniel’s eyes as he looked at her face, and she realized she must be bruised where Kertell had hit her.

“I’m fine—”

“You’re not fine, woman!” he burst out with fury in his voice. “Look at yourself. You’ve been hit and thrown about, and you’re saying you’re fine!”

His outburst startled her until she realized that his anger was rooted in his concern for her. She stepped closer. “I am fine,” she said softly. “Yes, I’ve been hurt, but I’m
alive, and I’m not seriously injured.” She reached out to touch his arm but he jerked out of her reach.

“Daniel,” she said, hiding her hurt, “thank you for coming to my rescue.”

“I shouldn’t have had to rescue you,” he said.

Amelia smiled. “Yes, I know, but—”

“Why were you coming back, Amelia?” He scowled. “Better yet, why did you come here alone? Didn’t you realize that this country isn’t safe for a woman traveling alone?”

She blinked. “It’s a straight road and only a short distance.”

“A distance long enough to be trouble to anyone, Miss Dempsey.”

She liked it better when he’d called her Amelia. It’d been the first time she’d heard her name on his lips, and she found she liked hearing him say it. Hearing it did strange things to her insides. “I didn’t give it much thought,” she admitted.

“Obviously.”

She frowned at his scathing tone. “Daniel—Mr. Trahern,” she amended quickly when she saw him frown. “I want to thank you for coming to my rescue.”

“You shouldn’t have needed a rescuer.”

She still didn’t like his tone. “I know. You said that—”

“What in the devil were you thinking of in traveling to the post all alone?”

“We needed supplies—”

“Are you a fool?” His blue eyes flashed with angry fire.

Amelia felt as if she were the guilty one, the one under attack. “I—”

“Even a child would have sense enough to realize the danger of these woods.”