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She raised herself up on an elbow and looked slowly around. The blanket which had covered her fell down to rest around her waist.
It was a crisp dawn. Mary Beth saw the deep shadows of early morning and a hint of pink along the horizon which meant that the sun was ready to rise and warm the world.
She could hardly believe that Brave Wolf had stayed in their makeshift camp the rest of the night instead of pushing onward.
When she had fallen asleep, oh, so bone weary from the long ride, and dispirited from her horrible experiences, she had expected to be awakened as quickly as she had fallen asleep and made to mount the horse again.
Her eyes met now with Brave Wolf’s as he stood over the campfire, his muscled body seeming to tense when he saw that she was awake. She was not sure why seeing her awake should make him tense.
A part of her was afraid of his reaction. What if he had plans for her today that were worse than those experiences she had already survived?
She firmed her jaw and rose quickly to her feet, gazing all the while into Brave Wolf’s midnight-dark eyes.
She ran her fingers down the front of her dress, trying to smooth out the wrinkles. Although it was now dry, the dress still clung to her body.
Brave Wolf returned her gaze steadily. Even with her hair in such disarray and with her dress wrinkled, she was still beautiful.
Because she was such a lovely woman, and white, it would not be wise to travel openly with her during daylight hours. Renegades would want her for themselves, and white pony soldiers would conclude that she was a captive. He doubted that they would ask questions first. They would shoot to kill his men and rescue the woman.
If she was wearing something besides her dress, perhaps she would not be so noticeable.
Without much further thought, he went to his travel bag and took one of his buckskin outfits from it.
Of course he knew that his clothes were much too big for this tiny woman; some adjustments would have to be made.
Mary Beth inhaled the scent of food again, and she noticed that the warriors were preparing their animals for travel. That had to mean they had already eaten. Was she not to be offered food for herself?
She was so hungry, she longed to take whatever was left of the food, but she waited to be told that she could. She didn’t want to do anything hasty which might cause Brave Wolf to tie her up again as they traveled onward. Since he’d left her untied through the night, surely he would trust her during the day when he would be awake and could see her every movement.
Her gaze turned to Brave Wolf as he came back toward her carrying what looked like buckskin attire. When he held the clothing out to her, she raised her eyebrows quizzically.
“Go and change into these clothes,” Brave Wolf said. “Bring your dress back to me. I shall place it in my travel bag. I will return it to you when we arrive at my village.”
“When we arrive at your village?” Mary Beth gasped out. “Are you saying I will have to go with you? I thought you were going to escort me to Fort Henry. Why would I have to go with you to your village?”
“When I find my brother, I must return him to my village as quickly as possible so that my mother will know that he is alive and well,” Brave Wolf said. “Then I will escort you to a fort. Only then.”
“That could take days,” Mary Beth said, tears springing up in her eyes. “I so badly want to be among my own people.”
She still had not told him about David. She was wondering if that had been a good decision. If she did tell him about her lost son, surely he would sympathize with her and listen to reason.
Yet, no. She saw his determination to continue onward to find his brother. She would wait for another time to tell him about her son.
Again she admired him for being so dutiful to his mother, yet Mary Beth had her own rights. Brave Wolf’s decision to keep her with him was wrong. If he would let her go today, while it was daylight, she could travel far before it got dark.
Perhaps she could even reach the fort. She knew it was not far from where the wagon train had been attacked.
But could she truly find her way to the fort alone? Something told her that wasn’t a wise move to make, for this was not safe country for a lone female traveler.
“I have wasted much valuable time by allowing you to sleep,” Brave Wolf said, his jaw tight. “I am wasting time even now as I wait for you to do as you are told. Go. Change into these clothes. I will put some of the food in a bag for you to eat as we travel. I do not have time for you to sit and have a leisurely meal.”
“Ha! Leisurely?” Mary Beth said, yanking the clothes from him. “Nothing about this experience with you is leisurely.”
Then she recalled that she had been allowed to sleep and regretted being sarcastic when she saw the hurt in his eyes.
It seemed strange that this man could have any feelings for her, yet she knew that he did.
When she said something hurtful to him, he did not react angrily. Instead, he looked as though he was stung by her anger and sarcasm.
