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“Evie, I didn’t kill your folks.” His voice had gone normal again. There was an almost pleading tone to his words.
“What were you doing at the farm, then?” She wanted to back away, but his eyes compelled her to remain rooted to the spot. The warmth from his hands radiated into her arms, and he stood so close, the scent of leather and clean male skin assaulted her senses.
Alex’s eyes raked over her face. He didn’t respond for the longest time. When he did, his lips curved in a soft smile, completely transforming his features right before her eyes into those of the boy she had lost her heart to all those years ago.
“I wanted to visit old friends,” he finally answered.
Evelyn blinked. Her eyebrows scrunched together, and she shook her head slightly. She wanted to believe the Alex who stood before her. It had been so much easier to be distrustful of him when he looked like an uncivilized savage.
Don’t fool yourself, Evie.
Just because his clean appearance reminded her of the boy she remembered from her childhood didn’t mean he was innocent. He had become a hardened mountain man. An innocent man wouldn’t have run away, would he? He still held her arms, sending inexplicable waves of heat crashing through her. She tightened her grip on the muslin in her hand.
Alex finally released her, but he didn’t move away. Instantly, the skin where he’d touched her turned cold. Evelyn shivered, wishing he hadn’t let go, yearning for him to hold her. How could he elicit such feelings? Alex’s features blurred in front of her, and tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Then who killed my parents, Alex?” she whispered. “Who would want them dead?”
Alex cursed under his breath. “What would Charlie have to gain by killing your ma and pa?” he asked suddenly.
Evelyn wiped the tears from her face. Charles? The thought had never entered her mind. “I . . . I don’t . . .” Evelyn’s eyes widened. Had the truth been in front of her all along? “He bought the farm, and Henry betrothed me to him.”
Alex’s eyes blazed anew. “He may own your farm,” he said between clenched teeth. “But for now, you belong to me.”
Chapter 7
Laurent Berard whistled loudly through his teeth. His eyes widened, the disbelief clearly written on his face. He jumped so fast from his seat on the ground, Alex thought a spark from the nearby campfire had burned a hole in the Frenchman’s backside. His mouth expanded in a broad smile and his eyes twinkled with mischief. Alex groaned silently as he strode closer into camp. Yancey wisely hadn’t left his spot in the dirt, but his jaw dropped and his eyes popped as if he’d seen a two-headed beaver. The three other men in camp gaped openly. Two sniggered, and the other coughed dramatically.
“A woman in your life is agreeing with you, mon ami,” Laurent said loudly. He clasped Alex’s arms and squeezed heartily. He angled his head first one way and then the other, and sniffed the air. “You look and smell as pretty as a young mangeur de lard fresh from the east.” The three men at the fire burst out laughing.
Alex yanked his knife from his belt and held it to the Frenchman’s throat, glaring at his friend. Laurent released his arms and tilted his chin to the side to avoid the sharp tip, but the threat of a knife in his jugular apparently didn’t diminish the man’s amusement. Alex had known that his comrades would mock the change in his appearance. If any man other than Laurent had referred to him as a pork eater, he would have considered it a great insult, but even coming from his friend, that didn’t mean he had to take the friendly barb lying down.
“Is she a nice robe warmer, Walker? Must be better than an Injun squaw,” one man called loudly. The others didn’t hide the eager expressions on their faces, waiting for Alex to satisfy their curiosity about the woman everyone assumed he had taken as his wife.
“She’ll do,” Alex answered gruffly. He glared at Laurent, his jaw clenched. The others nodded approval and slapped each other on their backs. Ignoring his comrades, Alex lowered his knife and motioned for the Frenchman to follow him away from camp. He didn’t need to watch and listen to any more goading. They didn’t need to know the reason for his absence from camp the night before. If they wanted to assume he had spent it in the arms of his new bride, then so be it.
The thought of spending a night in the arms of a woman like Evie sent his heart racing in his chest. Earlier, he told her that she belonged to him. If only it were true. The idea of Charlie Richardson laying a hand on her caused his muscles to tense, just as hot rage had flooded him when he watched other eager men barter for her. That he had yet to pay for his acquisition was best kept between him and Laurent.
