Waking Up Dead (The Western Werewolf Legend #1) (15 page)

The look Briann sent her spoke of
understanding. “We’ll be there soon, Sonja. All will be right once
more. You’ll see.” Patting her sister’s leg, she focused forward on
the team and their path.

Silently, Sonja hoped her sister’s
reasoning was sound. The dread she held a tight rein on spoke of
trouble.

Chapter 7

Control

“
I appreciate your help.”
The widow St. John batted her lashes.

Determined he wouldn’t give into the
temper brewing, Ty clamped down on his teeth and nodded. Did he
have a reason to wish Smoltz to die a slow death? Yes, he supposed
he did. Having to put up with being an escort yet again for another
widow, tried his patience to its limit.

“
I don’t know what I’d have
done if you hadn’t agreed to help me, Mr. Loflin?” She spread her
lace fan. Her efforts at stirring the air wafted a scent in Ty’s
direction. A Peculiar scent that was somehow familiar. Yet, he
couldn’t place the faintly earthy aroma.

He had a hard enough time keeping the
widow’s hands and eyes off him and his hide. Damn, Smoltz! He tried
Ty’s patience at every turn. He couldn’t cross the man though,
because Smoltz recognized something was amiss with Sonja and
he.

Doing everything in his power to keep
from acknowledging the widow’s provocative smile or the swell of
her bosom beneath the sheer lace of her bodice proved the hardest
of tasks.

“
It’s my job, Mrs. St.
John.” The job didn’t include fringe benefits for the widow. Ty
stiffened when her petite hand closed over his thigh.

“
Would you mind if I
hold…”

“
As a matter of fact, I
would.” Ty slid to the opposite side of the buckboard. Jumping
down, he turned. His face hardened without allowing even the
slightest expression. “I’ve got things to do.”

“
Well, what am I supposed
to do now?” she wailed in disbelief.

“
Try driving the team, Mrs.
St. John. Otherwise, you won’t get far.” With one leap, he was
astride his horse, untying the animal from the wagon and leaving
the heiress to make it on her own.

***

Sonja jerked back to face the trail
and the wagon master’s lead. Tears burned the backs of her eyes.
Briann’s small son, Ethan reached out taking her skirt in his small
fist.

“
Aunt Sony?”

His cherub mouth worked over the words
as he tried with difficulty to pronounce her name. “Yes,
sweetheart, what is it?”

“
You gonna cry?” His
concern was so pure and innocent, Sonja had to suck in air and hold
it before she broke down and sobbed right there on the seat. Such a
thing would never do, she mused and stiffened to sit straight as a
rod on the wooden buckboard, swaying gently with the team’s
progress.

“
No, Sony’s not gonna cry.
Don’t you worry, son. I got some dust in my eye, that’s
all.”

Her fib fooled the child and he
settled back against the plank backrest, nodding in understanding.
“Good. Maw says we shouldn’t make you cry ‘cause that would hurt
you and we don’t want you to hurt, Aunt Sony.”

Listening to the small boy’s words,
Sonja realized she’d been insensitive to the feelings of those
around her. Her sister and the boys could be in danger at any
moment because of her. The bloodsuckers would do whatever it took
to get to her. She wasn’t a fool. Like Sonja, Briann was also
uprooted by the discovery of vampires among the Union army’s rank
and file. The fact Briann warned the children to be considerate of
her feelings sent a pang of guilt straight through her heart. How
stupid, she’d been feeling sorry for herself when others depending
on her for their safety. Neither did she have time for wallowing in
self-pity over the lieutenant. He was a grown man and capable of
controlling himself, wasn’t he? He’d better be! Her cheeks flamed
at the idea of another woman working her wiles on him and Ty
succumbing to her charms in a moment of weakness. The sun must be
getting warmer. She perspired in the noonday heat.

The smallest hand tugged at her
shirtwaist sleeve continued to apply pressure to the material. When
had Ethan become so strong?

“
Aunt Sony, are you
listening?”

“
Sorry, Ethan. What did you
say?” Sonja wasn’t sure if she was overcome with the heat or a
surge of wolf blood made her woozy but she slowed her team, hoping
the sensation would pass.

Ethan’s insistent voice droned on in
her ears.

“
I said General Stewart
came by last night to check on us.”

It was hard to hear him over the
roaring in her head. The wagon hit a hole, causing Sonja to lurch
sideways almost unseating her. Managing to return to the present,
she whispered an Indian prayer Ty had taught her. Up ahead she
spotted the wagon master ambling along. Stars danced around the
corners of her vision. It wouldn’t do for him to see her having
difficulty. “Briann?” The scrape of leather on wood from the back
of the wagon announced her sister’s arrival. Soon Briann appeared
in the opening of the canvas cover.

“
Woah, girl. Easy…” Sonja
pulled hard on the reins and slapped with the whip to remind Daisy
what her place in the team meant. Pulling harder on the reins,
Sonja was finally able to calm the mule before Daisy caused the
whole team to act up. “Would you take the reins for a bit? I’m
seeing spots and my face feels flush.”

Bryan checked her temple for a fever.
“Of course, sweetie. You do seem clammy. Have you forgotten to
drink enough water? You know what Hortence said about getting
fluids down after a change. It’s only been a week since the full
moon.”

“
Yes, yes, I’m drinking
enough water. You’re worse than a mother hen always clucking around
me.” Cocking a brow at Briann, Sonja turned to slide back to the
relatively cool interior of the wagon. What she wouldn’t give for a
little sleep, she mused. Since leaving Pennsylvania, there’d been
one thing after another. What with watching out for vampires,
keeping a low profile and yearning for the arms of the lieutenant
around her in the wee hours of the night, she was a mess. The duty
to look after the other members of her family fell to her. Another
search for Ty left her disappointed. In the distance, she spotted a
small cloud of dust. It must be him leaving to do whatever scouts
did on a trail.

“
Here, let me switch places
with you. I’ll drive while you lie down.”

Sonja mumbled her thanks and fell into
the comfort of the cot. Little Ethan stood watching her as he held
tight to the side. The wagon’s sway lulled her into sleep despite
her better effort to stay awake.

***

Ty allowed the horse to have his head.
Brooding, he’d been told did a man no good. His older brother, John
brooded. There must be some family gene for brooding in the Loflin
clan. His thoughts turned to the Sonja. Her cool attitude toward
him did a good job of keeping him up. He hadn’t slept well since
they’d joined the wagon train. Dreams about her body wreaked havoc
with his control. He considered himself a realist. Most of the
incidents since he’d met Sonja were grounded in magic and
fantasy.

His recent task proved a challenge.
The widow St. John was an heiress from New Orleans. Damn Smoltz to
hell and back for ordering him to ride with her. All he could think
of was Sonja. No good would come of such thoughts. Sure, during the
day, he could scout and keep his distance, but at night, things
could get out of hand.

The wagons had stopped for the night.
Shoving his Stetson down further on his head, Ty jerked his mind
back before sliding boneless from Soldier’s back. He gave the
horse’s nose a rub as he eyed Sonja’s wagon. He should go straight
over to Smitty’s cook wagon. Then his keen eyes found
her.

Sonja stepped from the other side of
her wagon with a linen towel slung over her shoulders. Her
shirtwaist lay opened and revealed the creamy swell of her breasts
above her chemise. Ty could tell she wore no corset. The slender
shape was all hers. Totally ignoring his sensible side, he stared
as she came around the wagon and sat down next to the small fire
she’d built in the grate. With her arms above her head, the linen
wrap fell away from her hair.

Her long hair fell to her waist. She
worked the towel down the length of the glossy mane to her waist.
Long, agile fingers smoothed out any tangles before she picked up a
large comb and ran it through the silky locks.

Ty didn’t recall how long he’d been in
that one spot. He should make himself known, but something
prevented him from doing so.

She hummed quietly to herself. The
firelight played over her skin giving it the glow of warm
cream.

His fingers tingled. Her hands stroked
down the length of her hair in the soft firelight. Imagining what
those fingers would feel like on his skin, made Ty snap back to his
senses. He coughed.

Sonja jumped and turned. Her
expression full of surprise and irritation showed plainly on her
face. “What are you doing?” she asked curtly. Standing, she fisted
her hands on her hips, which caused her bodice to open wider.
Apparently, she’d forgotten about her open shirtwaist. Only the
thin cotton of her chemise covered the crests of her
breasts.

“
I got back from the
trail,” Ty explained. A trickle of sweat began to run down his
backbone. The sensation mixed with the confusion in his brain
prompted his throwing of the question back at her. “What are you
doing?” Ty asked in a sharp tone as he shoved his hands into his
pockets.

Sonja’s first reaction was more or
less, what Ty expected. “It’s none of your business.” Her nose
tilted upward. “But if you must know, I was washing my hair in some
of the rain water.”

Ty glared at her and winced inwardly
as she trailed those long, agile fingers down the sagging sleeve of
her dress, effectively pulling it further down and increasing the
view. He’d died and gone to heaven.

A quick glance and in the direction of
his gaze and Sonja quickly turned away as she worked at the buttons
of her shirtfront.

Ty could see her color deepen in the
glow surrounding the fire. “Got any coffee?” he asked, rather
innately.

Sonja flicked her gaze up at him
before using her chin in pointing at the pot sitting on the grate.
“It’s not too old,” she murmured. “And don’t sneak up on me like
that again.” She punctuated her statement by whirling and flouncing
away.

“
Yes, ma’am.” Ty tipped his
hat to her retreating form before stooping to pick up the pot. The
first sip tasted bitter in his mouth. With a jerk of his wrist,
coffee went sailing into the air and the cup settled not far
behind. Damn the situation to hell and back! He didn’t need these
feelings churning inside him. He’d go see Smitty and maybe he’d
have a bowl of something to put in his belly.

***

Ty kicked the fire grate sending
sparks flying into the night air.

“
You said you wanted to
know! Christ, Ty settle down. She’s all right.” Smitty watched his
friend stomp around the fire with rage simmering in his face. “I
understand how you feel. But nothing happened. That’s good,
right?”

“
Yeah, hell yeah, it’s
good. The filthy son-of-a-bitch should never have tried though.
He’s gonna pay for messin with my woman.” Glaring down the line of
wagons, Ty checked his holster and the barrel of his pistol. Locked
and loaded, he started toward Nelson’s wagon.

Smitty grabbed him. “Are ya daft,
Boyo. You’ll have the whole wagon train knowing what happened this
afternoon if you go down there now.”

Ty stopped. His vision fixed on a spot
somewhere beyond the wagons, out in the darkness where he wanted to
drag Nelson’s worthless body after he was through with him. “He had
no right to go sniffing around her or her family. The slimy
bastard.” He wrenched free of Smitty’s hold. “I’m okay.”

“
Wait until everybody’s
asleep. We’ll pay a visit to Mr. Romeo. He won’t be paying any more
calls to Sonja after we get through with him. You can count on
that.” Smitty gave Ty a wink and rocked back on his
heels.

Ty studied the ground in front of his
boots. “Okay. You’re right. We’ll visit Nelson later when
everyone’s to bed.” He continued to study the ground a moment more
before he wheeled in the opposite direction.

“
Now, where ya be going,
Tyler?” Smitty sounded much like a mother with the tone of his
words.

“
To speak to my woman,” Ty
growled over his shoulder.

***

“
When were you going to
tell me?” Ty’s nostrils flared with the effort to remain
calm.

“
Tell you what?” Sonja
glanced at him as he strode toward her. His face held a very
determined hardness. She couldn’t fathom what he was about. “Tyler,
what’s wrong. Your eyes have the change in them. You can’t be doing
this here,” she chided. “Calm down. Take some deep breaths.” She
laid a hand on his and recognized the small sprouts of hair already
surfacing along his skin. “Ty, you’ve got to get a hold of
yourself.”

“
I asked you a question.”
He jerked her up by the arms, bringing their faces to within inches
of each other. “What did Leroy Nelson want?” He searched her eyes.
“Smitty said he was snooping around here this
afternoon.”