Savage storm (52 page)

Gabrielle was too perceptive not to understand instantly what had happened between them. "He was ashamed of his Indian blood and you aren't, but in spite of his fears you've never told anyone, have you?"

"Only you," Jason replied softly. "And you have such a || romantic view of Indians I knew you'd not care that my grandmother had been one."

"Of course I don't care! But what if I did?" she wanted to know.

Jason's eyes swept her figure knowingly. "Now it is too late for such an objection to matter."

It was the arrogance of his tone that was so unnerving. He | was proud of himself, rather than guilty for not trusting ' her with such an important piece of information about i

his background. »

"What else is there I really ought to know? If you have not bothered to tell me, of your heritage what else have you neglected to mention? Do you plan to simply surprise me with things like this when they can no longer be kept secret?''

Jason turned away. "I have no time to argue. I have to gather my things and get back into town. There's no way I can give you any accurate idea of how long I'll be gone, but I want this job over and done as swiftly as possible."

Gabrielle's expression turned to one of amazement as her husband moved about the house collecting the items he wanted to take with him. That he liked to travel light was plain, for other than food and weapons he took little. In less than fifteen minutes, he was ready to leave and she had no idea how to tell him goodbye. "I've just realized I don't even know you," she whispered as he approached her. "I think I can guess now why you left home, but so much about your life is a mystery to me. It isn't fair that you must leave now when we've only been married one week and—"

"Gabrielle." Jason drew her into his arms, stilling her complaints with a slow, deep kiss which left her resting languidly in his embrace. "I will be back in a few weeks, but I don't want you to stay here alone. I'll tell Clay to come and get you. He's still got a houseful of women and can't go with us."

"But I want to stay here. This is my home now, and I've just begun to get everything the way I want it. I can't move back into Clay's house; I'd be completely out of place. What about the cow and the chickens? I can't go off and leave them alone!"

Jason shook his head. "The chickens can take care of themselves. Take the cow with you and leave her in Clay's barn. I'll not listen to any more arguments. I want you under Clay's roof while I'm gone and that's final."

Gabrielle backed away, shocked by the intensity of his gaze. Her heart fell as she realized why he wanted her to stay with his friend. "It's because of Beau, isn't it? Don't you trust me out of your sight?"

There was no point in denying her accusation since it was an accurate one. "I don't want you Hving here alone, Gabrielle. It's not a matter of trust, but a matter of avoiding a situation I | know you couldn't handle."

"I think you'd better leave before you say another word, ason.

Gabrielle turned her back on him, too furious to discuss the issue any further. This was no way to send him off on a mission she knew would be dangerous, but why had he been thinking only of Beau and not of her? She chewed her lip nervously, knowing if there were some way to ease his mind she'd use it. He might not respond as she wanted him to, but she wanted him to know she'd never betray his trust because she loved him. She spoke those words as she turned to face him, but the room was empty. He'd left so silently she'd not even heard him don his hat and coat and close the door.

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Gabrielle stamped her foot impatiently. "Husband," she muttered under her breath. There was no point in her going after Jason. If he'd walked out on her, surely he wouldn't care to hear the declaration of love she wished to make. She felt so cheated that she wanted to scream. She'd done her best to please a man who could not be pleased—except in bed, it seemed. She placed her hands upon her slender hips and continued to tap her toe. She'd be damned if she'd go to Clayton's like a little child who couldn't manage on her own. If she had no one with whom to converse other than the stock, then so be it. Sunny had been her trusted confidant for years and he'd not fail her now.

Not until the evening, when she put on her nightgown and sat down upon the edge of the brass bed to brush out her hair, did she realize how alone she was. Only the sound of the wind moaning through the trees near the house broke the eerie quiet, and in spite of her earlier confidence she grew frightened. She sat for a long while before laying her brush aside and getting under the covers. She wondered where Jason might be staying that night and if he were thinking of her, but somehow she knew he'd be far too busy for that. He'd set out to lead an army formed to avenge the massacre of his friends and he'd not be diverted from that purpose. He was an extremely

responsible man. That was what had inspired her trust when they'd first met, but she'd not reaHzed there were so many others who needed his strength as much or more than she did. Was this to be the pattern of their Hves? He was a scout he'd said, not a man who'd retired from blazing trails through the wilds to build a home and raise a family with his wife. A single tear slipped down her cheek and she lifted her hand to wipe it away. Apparently she'd spend a lot of time by herself, but she knew she'd never grow to like it.

The next afternoon Beau Ramsey knocked at her door. He wore a sheepish grin and held out a small tan box tied with a red bow. "I found some maple sugar candy, and I remembered how much you liked it. I know Jason isn't home so won't you please invite me to come inside for a visit?"

"What makes you think Jason isn't here?" Gabrielle asked suspiciously, making no move to ask him to enter her home or to accept his gift.

"I saw him leave Oregon City this morning. He and his friends rode out of town in full view of anyone who cared to look," the young man replied, thinking the matter an unimportant one. "I came to apologize for the way I acted last Saturday. I was more mad at myself than you, but that's not the way it sounded. Now may I please come in? It's getting cold out here."

Gabrielle had known Beau all her life, and despite Jason's edict forbidding her to see him, she considered their house her home too. She'd not turn away her best friend. Looking up at the cloud-filled sky, she gestured toward his horse. "Would you like to leave your mount in the barn before you come in? He might as well be comfortable top."

"Thanks, I would." Beau led the horse across the yard and into the well-built structure. Rather than tethering the animal, he took him into a stall containing a good supply of hay, removed his saddle and bridle, and slapped him on the rump. "Make yourself comfortable. If I'm lucky, you'll have a warm home for a while." Chuckling to himself, he returned to where

Gabrielle stood waiting for him on her front porch.

"Please come in," she invited graciously. "I'll make some tea, or would you prefer coffee? If Jason has anything stronger, I don't know where he keeps it."

"Quite the proper housewife, aren't you?" Beau replied with a grin. "I'd rather have tea if that's what you'd like too." He looked around the large room, impressed by its size and well-crafted furnishings. 'This looks more like a fur trader's lodge than a farmhouse. Are you sure your husband's a farmer?"

"No," Gabrielle replied honestly. "This was his parents' home, however. Apparently they'd anticipated having a large family but they did not." She put the kettle on to heat water for tea, then came back to sit down in the rocker. "Won't you sit down? Pull one of the chairs closer to the fire if you'd like." She watched him closely as he sat down beside her, leaving no more than a few inches of space between them. He was again dressed in buckskins, apparently favoring that mode of dress as Jason did. Since the day was overcast and cold, his fair complexion was flushed by the chill, but he had changed little in the year and a half they'd been apart. His muscular body was as sleek, his hair as blond, his eyes the same warm brown. They filled with a merry sparkle as he returned her inquisitive glance. When he held out the box of candy she took it this time.

"Thank you."

"Go ahead and open it. It's very good." His grin was a charming one as he waited for her to untie the ribbon and remove the lid. "Do you remember the time your aunt bought a pound of that for her church guild meeting and we ate it all before she could offer it to her guests?"

"Yes." Gabrielle had to laugh with him, for in addition to being punished for eating all the candy, they'd gotten very sick. It had been several years before she'd wanted to taste the sugary sweet again. "We did so many truly awful things to her, poor dear. I don't think she ever understood us though, or

even made an attempt to try."

"How did you convince her to let you come out here?" Beau || wanted to know.

"Of course, you wouldn't have heard." Gabrielle spoke her ; thought aloud. "She passed away last spring. She'd not been j well for several weeks; the doctor said it was her heart. I left \ Liberty the day she was buried."

Beau regarded Gabrielle thoughtfully for a moment; then he nodded. "I heard you were one of Clayton Home's brides." He looked toward the fire then, the muscles along his jaw tensing as he tried to control his anger. "If only—"

"Don't, Beau. Please don't." She reached out to touch his sleeve, fingering the long fringe lightly. "It's pointless to think how things might have been when there is no way to change the way they are now."

"Everything can be changed if you want to change it, Gabrielle. Your husband will be away a long while. He'd never find us if we left now. Let's just go." Beau held his breath, praying she'd agree to his plan.

His gaze was so filled with love that Gabrielle had to look away. "No. I told you I won't leave him and I won't."

"You've only been married a little over a week," Beau pointed out angrily. "You were my girl for years!"

Gabrielle sat back in her chair. Taking one of the leaf-shaped candies from the box, she took a small bite and let it melt in her mouth. "That's just the point. Beau. I'm no longer a girl; I'm a woman now." Jason Royal's woman, she thought proudly, even though her husband had left her without the courtesy of a formal goodbye.

Beau blushed deeply at that remark. "I don't care if you've been with him. You thought I was dead or it wouldn't have happened. You know that as well as I do, so don't try to deny it."

Gabrielle shook her head. "I won't deny it, but there's no point in going over this another time. Beau. I am Jason Royal's wife and I intend to remain married to him."

AAA

Beau's stare was intense, but he could detect no wavering in Gabrielle's resolve. Knowing he would only enrage her if he continued to argue he slumped back in his chair and stared into the fire. "I'm just no good without you, honey. We had so many plans, but without you here to help me I couldn't even get started. I haven't had much success as a trapper, and this winter will probably be no different if I stay here. I could claim the land for a farm, but then I'd not have the money to raise a house or buy what I'd need. If only you'd come with me, everything would have been different. We'd have our own farm by now. You always brought me luck,Gabrielle. Without you, I'm nothing."

Shocked by his somber mood and depressing words, Gabrielle hastened to argue. 'That's not true, Beau, you know it isn't. You can be successful at whatever you attempt."

Beau shook his head. "I've had a year and a half to prove you wrong. Why I'd never even have learned anything in school if you hadn't helped me with my homework every afternoon. You were two years younger and a girl, but I loved you so much I just swallowed my pride and asked for your help whenever I needed it, which was damn often."

Gabrielle was shocked to think he'd felt badly all the years she'd been his tutor. She had learned her addition and subtraction facts quickly, and had known the times tables soon after. It had seemed like a game to her to help him, but he had never been able to understand new lessons until she'd explained them every day for at least a week. Then he had quickly forgotten everything she'd taught him when they went on to something new. He knew how to read haltingly, but when she read along with him he'd done better. He could write interesting compositions too, and as long as she corrected bis spelling errors before he turned them in, he got good grades. As she sifted through her memories she realized he was right, without her help he had trouble learning. But she had wanted to help him and had never thought him unintelligent, merely untalented in schoolwork. That she had so keen a mind was not

something she'd ever questioned, nor had she taunted him for being slow.

"Beau, you've got to stop brooding over the past. You learned everything you were supposed to and you would have done it without me. Perhaps I made things a little easier for you, but you would have done it on your own." At least she hoped he would have.

The young man wasn't convinced. "I doubt it." He jammed his hands in his pockets, stretched out his legs, and crossed his ankles, getting comfortable while they talked. ''Other than a strong back, I've few assets, Gabrielle."

"I'm not going to sit here all afternoon and pay you compliments. Beau Ramsey. If that's all you came to hear, then you might as well leave now. You're a grown man and it's high time you start acting like one."

His smile was charming as he glanced toward her but despite his sly chuckle, he didn't seem convinced she was right. He had a very pleasant manner, handsome features, endless charm. She couldn't bear to think those assets masked deficits of character so serious he would never become a success. She jumped then, as a bolt of lightning flashed through the sky lighting the large room with the brilliance of its glow seconds before the deafening roar of thunder shook the windows.

"That was close." She leaped to her feet and ran to the window, afraid she'd see trees aflame, but through the steady rain she could see no damage.

"It's begun to rain," she commented absently.