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Shoshana got a glimpse of a panther through the thick brush, and then she saw something else.
There were three kittens with the panther. It seemed the mother was standing protectively between Shoshana and the kittens, and she could just make out their den behind them.
Shoshana started to flick her reins in an attempt to get her horse to move, but it remained frozen on the rocky path, its head low.
“Come on, boy,” Shoshana urged desperately.
And then Shoshana’s heart skipped a beat when she heard something else. It was a horse approaching.
Just as she turned to see if it was Storm, he came up a few feet behind her, and the panther gave another loud scream.
Storm gazed at Shoshana, then at the panther, then yanked his rifle from the gunboot.
He was in luck. He had found not only the woman he loved, but also the deadly panther. He took aim.
“No!” Shoshana shouted. “There are three kittens there. Don’t you see them?”
The panther was now pacing protectively back and forth before the kittens, its green eyes moving from Shoshana to Storm.
“Storm,” Shoshana said. “This is a mother. She is only protecting her young.”
Storm glanced over at Shoshana, so glad that he had found her, and found her safe. Then he looked at the panther again. It had not yet crouched to attack. It still paced, its eyes ever watching.
He had a strong feeling that this panther was not the one doing the killing. He slowly lowered his rifle as the panther took one of the kittens in its mouth and bounded away, while the two others followed until all were out of sight.
Storm slid his rifle into his gunboot, then rode up to Shoshana.
His eyes took in her loveliness and the stubborn look in her dark eyes.
He understood now what he had done that had angered her; she had the right to be angry. He never should have given her any ultimatum, especially one that threatened the loss of freedom.
Yes, he had been wrong, and he would make it up to her. He knew now that he could not live without her.
“I was wrong,” he blurted out. “Nuest-chee-shee, come. Come back with me to my village. You will not be there as a captive. You will be there as my future bride. Your mother—she was so happy to have found you again. I saw the happiness you felt at finding her. Come back with me, Shoshana. I . . . was . . . wrong.”
“Storm, I want nothing more than to be with you and my mother,” Shoshana murmured, her whole being eager to have his arms around her. “But I have something I must do. I will not ask you to allow me to do it. I am going to. I’m going to the fort.”
“But why?” Storm asked.
“I will go to the fort and let George Whaley believe that I have come back to live with him. But the very next morning he will find me gone. He will know why I have left because I will leave him a note explaining that I no longer want anything to do with him,” she murmured. “I would prefer to tell him to his face, but I know that would be too dangerous. If he knew what my plans were . . . to come back to you . . . he would probably put me behind bars. As it is, I shall wait until all are asleep at the fort and then leave.”
She reached over and gently touched his face. “Storm, please come with me,” she said softly. “Wait for me in the forest at the edge of the fort. I will leave the fort when it gets dark. I will come to you. We can return to your stronghold together. Then we can truly begin the rest of our lives.”
“I still see danger in your plan,” Storm said. “How will you know that everyone is asleep? And will there not be sentries posted to guard the fort through the night?”
“Yes, there are sentries, but as I have noticed many times since my arrival at Fort Chance, the sentries who are supposed to keep the fort safe almost always fall asleep on the job,” Shoshana said, lowering her hand. “That is when I shall slip past them. But I won’t be able to leave on my horse. That would make too much noise. I will come on foot to you in the forest.”
She gave him a soft, sweet smile. “Don’t you see?” she said. “You and I will gain vengeance at the same time when George Whaley reads the note and knows that he has been duped, and duped by the daughter he adored.”
“We must be far up the mountain when he awakens and finds you gone,” Storm cautioned.
“Are you saying that you agree to my plan?” Shoshana asked, her eyes wide.
“Ho, I do,” he said tightly. “But there are still many dangers in your plan. I have protected my people for many years in our stronghold. I have kept its location secret for so long. Should the pony soldiers track you and discover its location, I will be forced to hand over the chieftainship to someone more trustworthy than I. For in a sense, I will have betrayed my people’s trust if the soldiers should find the stronghold because of what we do.”
Shoshana’s smile faded. She inhaled a nervous breath. “Knowing that, I’m not sure if I should go to the fort after all,” she said, her voice drawn. “I don’t want to be responsible for bringing trouble to your . . . our . . . people. Nor do I want the title of chief to be taken from you because of something I did.”
“Something we did,” he corrected. “For, my ish-tia-nay, we are going to follow your plan. I will escort you as close to the fort as it is safe to go. Then, as you suggested, I will wait in the forest for you. Shoshana, you must be cautious every moment th
