AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Upstairs, the fire was raging out of control. He could hear the timbers overhead groaning and knew they didn’t have much time before it all came down upon them. Moving quickly, he carried her down the aisle and over the downed post until they reached the safety of the outdoors.
But he did not stop until he put some distance between them and the burning building. Only then did he stop and look back. Then, as if on cue, the roof gave way and collapsed. A burst of black smoke and flames shot up from the interior of the building. It did not go unnoticed by Sam that if he had not gone back in, it would have been too late for Ivy. She would have perished in the cellar.
In his arms, he felt her shake. As if the very same thought had crossed her mind. He glanced down at her and realized he was still holding her close. It felt so unbelievably right. He was struck by an unexpected desire to never let her go. But then he remembered he must. With reluctance, he dropped his arm and allowed her legs to slide back down to earth.
“We best get out of town before those Indians decide to come back for a head count. Wait here.”
The alarm in her eyes had him wishing again to reach out and comfort. But instead, he turned and went after his horse. As hard as it was getting, Sam could not lose sight of the fact that in a few short days he would be handing her over to the law. No reward ever felt so tainted. This time around, he would receive no gratification. For there would be no satisfaction in watching Ivy McGregor dangle from her noose.
* * *
Ivy slumped against Sam’s back. The horse carried them through the woods without stopping. The further they got away from that town, the safer she would feel. Sam had not spoken of the incident. She suspected he knew why it had happened, but was not discussing it. Ivy, however, could not understand it.
They rode for hours, she supposed, partially, to put a huge gap between them and the Indians. But she also suspected partly because he was anxious to reach the city. They had been in the wilderness now for four nights and five days. When she thought about them reaching Fort Williams, her spirits plummeted. There everything would change.
Sam would hand her over to the local constable, collect his reward, and be on his way. He wouldn’t give Ivy a second thought. She had to force herself to do the same. There was no sense in becoming too attached to him.
Finally, when the sun dipped below the western horizon, he pulled the animal toward a secluded area. There, a bunch of huge oak trees lay on their sides, their uprooted barks creating a small hollow for shelter.
Sam jumped down first, then turned and reached up for Ivy. A few days ago, she would never have allowed a man to touch her. Would have flinched out of sheer fear from the merest contact. Yet, with this man, if she flinched, it was on account of the hot electrical shock his touch evoked along her skin. Her entire body trembled from the simple feel of his fingers. Never before had she ever felt more human.
And it scared her horribly.
She could not afford to succumb to those feelings. If she wanted to survive, she needed to put some distance between her and Sam Michalski. Far too easily he was making her feel vulnerable. Dependent.
His hands came around her waist and pulled her gently off the horse. Ivy clutched her own hands to her chest. She could not risk touching him. The urge to crumble into his arms was too strong. Closing her eyes, she waited for him to let her go. When he did not, she slowly opened her eyes and found him staring down at her.
An odd look crossed his face. A mix of confusion and sadness. And when she looked deep into his hazel eyes, she saw a gentleness not evident there before. One of his hands came up and gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face. The rough callus of his finger brushed her soft skin. Yet it felt heavenly. Instinctively, Ivy’s eyes fluttered shut.
“How did you do it?”
Her eyes slid open reluctantly. She would have rather sat there all day enjoying the feel of his fingers against her skin.
“Do what?”
“Become so beautiful over the last few days?”
No one had ever called her beautiful. Ivy knew she was not. Moira, on the other hand, had been. Her blond hair hung like golden silk in the sunlight. Eyes the color of pure crystal shone as blue as the ocean. And skin as smooth and soft as the marble pillars in the Earl’s castle. That was why he had preferred her sister. She was beautiful. But that beauty had destroyed Moira. Left her prey to the evil ways of a man.
Ivy took a step back, pulling herself out of his arms. “That I am not, Mr. Michalski. Or ever will be.”
He studied her, his expression not revealing his internal thoughts. She half feared he would reach out and caress her again. Half feared he would not. He exhaled slowly and turned away. And Ivy was left with conflicting emotions. Relief and regret.
For one crazy moment, she wished Sam looked upon her the way her father looked upon her mother before their death. They had loved each other terribly. Ivy’s memories of her parents were full of happiness and love. Lots and lots of love. In those days, she and Moira had been happy. And safe.
Sam went to work immediately on getting a fire started, while Ivy found a spot to curl up in. Lifting her skirts, she eyed the wrapping he had administered around her ankle. No one had ever taken care of Ivy. No one ever cared enough.
Her eyes lifted and glanced o
ver at him as he opened a can of food with his knife. She had to force herself to remember that it was not because he cared. She was simply slowing them down with her injury.
Going over to the horse, he undid the saddle and hitched the animal over to a grassy area to feed. Ivy was grateful for the animal. There was absolutely no way she could have walked another step. She didn’t trust Sam enough to know what he would have done. Would he have eventually given up and left her for dead? Perhaps save her from the misery of being prey for some wildlife and shoot her?
When he returned, she watched him get comfortable across from her. “How much longer before we be reaching town?”
His eyes shot to her face before leaning over and retrieving the canned food from the fire pit. “Most likely some time tomorrow.”
Her own eyes fell to her hands clutched tightly together in her lap. Tomorrow was too soon. She needed more time.
