Cora's Pride (Wilderness Brides Book 1) (9 page)

Images of him had kept her awake on previous nights. Thoughts she shouldn’t be having had left her tossing in her sleep. She’d never had such a strong reaction to a man before, and she barely even knew him. He might be the kind of man who would protect them and see them safely to their destination, but he wasn’t the kind of man she should be thinking about for the long-term. He would leave, just as her father and then Ted – the two men in her life she had trusted – had done.

Nathaniel’s motives were a mystery, too. Why would he want to help her and her family in the first place? He’d clearly been heading in a different direction than Fort Hall. He’d even said so.

Cora shook her head. She wasn’t going to make the same mistakes again that she’d made before by putting her trust in a man she barely knew. The next time, things might be far worse than being left behind. Keeping her distance from Nathaniel was her best recourse to guard herself from falling for a man who might use her and then discard her when she no longer suited him.

“Don’t shake your head, Cora.” Anna’s words broke into her thoughts. “I know what you’re thinking, and I’m going to tell you that you’re wrong. Patrick wants Mr. Wilder to stay, and so does Caroline. I do, too. We all feel safer with him around.”

Cora opened her eyes and looked at Anna. “What about Josie. Is she happy that there’s a strange man in our camp?”

Anna chuckled. She quickly sobered. “Josie has every right to be wary. Nothing will happen to her. Just give him a chance, Cora.”

Cora turned her head, glancing toward the fire. Her little brother’s hands moved through the air. His words didn’t quite reach her, but no doubt he was telling a grand story to Nathaniel, who sat on a large rock, his attention on the boy. He nodded and said something. Patrick laughed.

Cora looked away. She closed her eyes, but not quick enough to prevent a tear from escaping down her cheek. Ted had never paid any attention to Patrick, and Papa had always yelled at him. Her little brother needed a man to look up to. Nathaniel was the wrong man for that. He’d be gone from their lives just like everyone else. In the morning, she’d have to speak to him, but for now, she wasn’t going to deny her brother what he needed. She swiped at her face, then looked at Anna.

“All right,” she whispered. “He can stay, for now.”

C
ora awoke
to the smell of wood burning and the sizzling of something cooking in a pan. She opened her eyes when the voices of Anna and Patrick mixed with another deep, masculine voice. She groaned. Yesterday’s events once again filled her head, which still pounded from the impact of whatever had struck her in the river. Nathaniel Wilder was here, in her camp. He had saved her life.

She closed her eyes again, not ready to face her family, or the man who hadn’t listened when she'd insisted he stay away from them. He'd proven to be even more stubborn than herself.

You’d be dead right now if he had gone about his way like you wanted him to do.

Worse still, Patrick could very well have died in that river, too. All because she’d been too afraid to show that she wasn’t as strong as she’d led everyone to believe. And, because she didn’t want another man to disappoint her, especially a man she was attracted to and who could easily steal her heart.

Cora touched a trembling hand to the tender spot on her head. Dizziness threatened to claim her when she shifted under the covers.

She couldn’t linger any longer. She’d never been sick a day in her life, and even on days when she’d have much rather stayed in bed longer, she’d always gotten up and done a full day’s work. Today would be no different. Judging by the sun rising in the east, she should have been up hours ago. They needed to get to Fort Hall, and it wouldn’t do any good to dally around. After yesterday’s incident, they were already delayed. . . again.

“How come you speak Indian?” Patrick asked loudly. He held his plate out to Anna, who forked meat onto it along with a couple of biscuits. “Do you live with the Indians?”

Nathaniel chuckled. He sipped from a steaming tin cup. The aroma of coffee lingered in the air. Cora tensed. She hadn’t brewed coffee since the day Ted had told her he was leaving. In fact, she’d traded most of it for tea before they’d left Fort Laramie. She moved her head to peer toward the fire.

“No, I don’t live with the Indians,” Nathaniel answered in a patient voice.

“Then how come you’re dressed like them and can speak to them?”

The man chuckled, but gave Patrick his undivided attention. “Hard to get wool and flannel for clothes out here in the wilderness. I save most of what I have for winter, when it’s colder. It’s more practical to wear buckskin.” He sipped his coffee before continuing, “As to speaking with the Indians, living out in the wild, it’s best to know how to communicate with your neighbors.”

Anna handed Nathaniel a plate of food. “Have you lived in the wilderness all your life?”

He shook his head. He glanced from her to Patrick. “No. My brothers and I were raised by a trapper, Harley Buchanan. We’ve been with him now for more than a dozen years. He brought us out here after . . .”

Cora shifted under the wagon, waiting for him to continue. After what? Nathaniel glanced her way at that moment. Her heart lurched when his eyes connected with hers. She shouldn’t be staring back, but some invisible force drew her eyes to him.

His lips twitched in a faint smile while their eyes were locked together. Time must have stopped for a few seconds while he looked at her. Cora’s mouth went dry. The sudden urge hit her to pull the blanket over her head and hide from his stare. He’d been right about everything, and she’d acted like a fool, wanting to prove him wrong. In the process, she’d put not only herself in danger, but also her family.

Nathaniel raised his coffee cup in front of him in silent acknowledgement and nodded almost imperceptibly. He held her gaze another second, then turned his attention back to Anna. He smiled at her, but the intensity had left his eyes.

“Harley brought us with him after our folks were killed along the Missouri.”

“By Indians?” Patrick asked loudly, his eyes going wide.

“River pirates.” Nathaniel glanced at his plate. His voice lowered, as if he were reluctant to speak. “We came west from Kentucky in the summer of ‘40. My pa wanted to settle along the Missouri. It was long before wagons started crossing the river and heading further west.”

“And the river pirates killed your ma and pa?” Patrick apparently forgot about his breakfast. A piece of meat dangled from the fork he held in front of him but didn’t put in his mouth.

“And my baby sister.”

Even from Cora’s place under the wagon, it was easy to see that Nathaniel’s body had grown tense. He leaned forward, staring at his plate rather than looking at Patrick. His jaw was set in a tight line.

“If bad men hurt my sisters, I’d kill them,” the boy said loudly.

“Patrick Hudson. I’ll hear no more talk of killing anyone.” Cora pulled her covers back, shivering at the cold blast of air. She ducked out from under the wagon. It was time to put a stop to this conversation.

She stood on unsteady legs for a moment as stars danced before her eyes. She blinked several times to stave off the dizziness and shivered again at the brisk air that touched her bare skin. She glanced down and her mouth gaped open. Where were her clothes? There she stood, in only her chemise and bloomers, right in front of Nathaniel. Her gaze shot to the man sitting by the fire.

Nathaniel looked straight at her. She swallowed. His eyes roamed over her, appraising her slowly from top to bottom before resting on her face. Her skin tingled in response as if he’d reached out and touched her. Cora’s heart pounded against her ribs.

Regaining her senses, she lunged for her blanket under the wagon and held it up to her chin. When she looked up, Nathaniel still stared at her, a wide grin on his face. Anna rushed up to her.

“You’re awake,” her friend greeted with a slight stammer. Her face was scarlet. No doubt Cora’s cheeks matched the color of her friend’s, if the heat rising up her neck was any indication. Anna stepped in front of her in an obvious effort to block Nathaniel’s view of her.

“Where are my clothes?” Cora hissed, her eyes darting to the man staring at her by the fire. He seemed completely oblivious that it was highly inappropriate to be looking at her. Cora scoffed silently. He knew perfectly well that he shouldn’t be staring. He was doing it on purpose.

“Your clothes were soaking wet yesterday, Cora.” Anna’s smile was apologetic. “I had to remove the rest of your dress. I’m afraid it couldn’t be salvaged.”

“What do you mean, the rest of my dress?” She only owned three decent dresses that weren’t threadbare from use on this journey.

Anna shot a hasty glance over her shoulder toward the fire. Nathaniel stood and walked toward them.

“I tore part of it off you,” he said before Anna could answer.

Cora glared at him and clutched the blanket tighter to her body.

“The dress and your underthings were dragging you under water. We both might have drowned if I hadn’t removed them. Given the choice, I discarded your skirts rather than you.”

Cora’s eyes narrowed while her heart hammered in her chest at his almost sensual words. She pressed her lips together when renewed heat rushed to her face. He watched her, a challenging look in his eyes, as if he was waiting for her to argue with what he’d said. His lips twitched in amusement.

“Why don’t you come to the wagon, Cora, and get dressed proper. I didn’t want to disturb you unduly yesterday. You needed rest.” Anna reached for her arm.

Cora raised her chin. She didn’t take her eyes off Nathaniel. The rush of heat to her face engulfed her entire body in response to his stare. His eyes traveled leisurely over her face, as if taking in everything about her, even her thoughts. His perusal stopped at her neck, where she still clutched the blanket to her.

She swallowed. If he meant to intimidate her, he could think again. Before contemplating her actions, Cora took a step toward him and held out her hand, while clutching the blanket in the other.

“Thank you for saving Patrick’s life, Mr. Wilder. I appreciate what you’ve done for us.”

His eyebrows rose in surprise and disbelief. Cora forced her expression to remain steady. A suspicious glare quickly followed and he cocked his head to the side, but his lips formed into a wide grin that sent another flutter through her. His warm hand engulfed hers in a strong, yet tender grip, making her head spin with renewed dizziness that had nothing to do with the injury to her head.

“Glad I was close enough to help,” he said. The tone of his voice dropped considerably. He continued to stare at her, his eyes traveling lower along her shoulder and arm that were now exposed to his view. He made no effort to release her hand.

Anna cleared her throat. “I think you’d best get dressed, Cora, before you catch cold.”

Cora tore her eyes away from him. She slipped her hand out from his grip and Anna quickly raised the corner of the blanket that had dropped and covered Cora’s shoulder and arm.

“Please excuse us for a moment, Mr. Wilder. Your breakfast is getting cold.” Anna shot him a meaningful look. She moved between him and Cora and pushed her toward the wagon.

Nathaniel smiled with a definite mischievous twinkle to his eyes before he did the polite thing and wandered back to the fire.

“What was that all about?” Anna whispered when they reached the back of the wagon.

“What do you mean?” Cora glanced at her friend. Her lips widened in a smile.

“You were . . . you were flirting with him.”

Cora snorted. She held a hand to her mouth to keep from bursting into laughter. “I thought you wanted me to be polite and not tell him to leave again. I wasn’t flirting. I was simply putting him in his place, Anna. I wasn’t going to swoon in front of him or run away in mortification because of impropriety.”

Truthfully, he was the one putting
her
in her place. He’d seemed less flustered about the encounter than she, and looked to have been enjoying their silent duel.

“Well, it certainly was highly improper,” Anna insisted. “What were you thinking?”

Cora’s smile faded. “Sending a message to Mr. Wilder that I’m not going to be intimidated by his presence.”

And you failed miserably, Cora.

Anna stared at her with narrowed eyes. “Cora, there’s something going on between you and that man. I’ve sensed it before. You’ve never let a man rile you and get under your skin the way Mr. Wilder seems to.” She shook her head and a smile passed over her lips. “And the way you looked at each other was like the force of an electrical storm. The air was purely charged around the two of you.”

Cora waved her off with a careless flick of her hand. She scoffed to cover up her lingering reaction to Nathaniel. Something had happened a moment ago and it scared her almost as much as the thought of drowning in the river. Even Anna had noticed.

“I’d best get dressed, like you said. It’s rather chilly out.”

She climbed into the wagon, ignoring another wave of dizziness as she scrambled over several trunks and a mattress. When she looked up in the dim light under the canvas, she met Josie’s wide-eyed stare.

“What are you doing in here, Josie? Shouldn’t you be out having breakfast?”

Cora’s eyes drifted to her rifle, which Josie clutched on her lap. She expelled a sigh and pulled her little sister into an embrace.

“He’s not going to hurt you,” she said quietly.

She may have been mistrustful of Nathaniel from the beginning, but truth be told, it had nothing to do with his character and everything to do with her reaction to him. Nathaniel wasn’t a threat to Josie or any of them, of that she was certain.

Anna was right. There was something going on. She’d sensed it from the beginning, and it had raised her hackles. Being attracted to a man brought complications she didn’t need. Why this man? Why not a farmer on his way to Oregon?

She’d been slightly attracted to Ted when they’d first met in Independence, but he’d never gotten her riled the way Nathaniel had managed to do right from their first meeting. When Ted had proposed marriage, she’d told herself that she could grow to love him, or at least care for him. At the time, he’d seemed like a sensible, secure choice in a husband, unlike a woodsman, who was all wrong for her. She mentally shook her head. Her attraction to Nathaniel Wilder baffled her, but it could be overcome. Once they reached Fort Hall, they’d be parting ways, and she wouldn’t have to see him again.

Cora looked at her sister. “I promise, he is not going to lay a hand on you. He’s not that kind of man.”

Josie stared at her. She blinked rapidly. “We almost lost you yesterday.”

Cora leaned forward and wrapped her sister in her arms. “Nothing bad is going to happen to me.” She hugged Josie close. “And that’s why Mr. Wilder is here - to help us.”

Josie stiffened. “You said before you didn’t want him with us, and you didn’t trust him.”

Cora leaned away from Josie and looked her in the eye. “I was wrong. As much as it pains me to admit it, we need his help. I thought I could do it on my own, like we managed at home, but I can’t.” She inhaled a long breath. “Traveling through this unknown territory is more dangerous than I originally thought. It’s my fault we got lost, and that Patrick fell into the river. It would have ended badly if Mr. Wilder hadn’t been there.” Cora paused, looking at her sister. Her own words sank into her mind as the hard truth. She hugged her sister close again. “And you don’t need to be afraid. You weren’t afraid when Ted was with us, were you?”

Josie shook her head. “I’m glad Mr. Wilder saved your life”

Cora smiled. “Let me get dressed. There’s nothing for you to worry about with Mr. Wilder. Anna, Caroline, Patrick, or I will always be near, so you never have to be alone, all right?”

“I want to be like you, Cora. I don’t ever want to depend on a man.”

Cora pulled her sister into another embrace. Josie’s emotional scars ran deep. Would she ever recover from what had happened to her less than a year ago?

“Why don’t you join Caroline and Patrick outside and get some breakfast? she whispered. “I’ll be along shortly.”

Cora slumped against one of the trunks in the wagon after Josie climbed over the tailgate. Once her sister was out of sight, she buried her face in her hands. A quiet sob escaped her throat. She lingered for a moment, allowing fear and insecurities to wash over her. Wiping at her damp cheeks, she straightened and inhaled deeply. She couldn’t fall apart. Not now.