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Their eyes met. The bear roared. A shot echoed along the river. A cry rang out and then the animal fell to the water. Sam watched as it wailed pitifully. Injured, but not dead. He turned and looked over at Ivy. She was convulsing, trembling horribly and crying hysterically. The gun fell from her hands. Sam moved swiftly and gathered her into his arms.
To his relief she collapsed against him. Tears soaked through his vest to the shirt beneath. Squeezing, he pulled her close, grateful to be able to hold her once more. Her copper curls wafted under his nose. Sam closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Her sweetness enveloped him.
Behind them, the bear howled again. Its death cry would alert predators in the area. With reluctance, he pulled Ivy out of his embrace. Tears stained her cheeks. He reached up and with the pad of this thumb, gently wiped them away.
“We have to kill it, Ivy.”
Her chin quivered as she shook her head. “I can’t.”
Truth burned a path to his soul and lit it on fire. In that moment, Sam’s heart woke up from a lifetime of slumber. With a grateful sigh, he pulled her back into his arms and held her tight. Dropping a kiss on her head, he let her go. “It’s all right. I’ll do it.”
Fresh tears welled in her eyes and tumbled over. Unable to resist, he bent down and pressed his lips to hers. She put up no resist
ance. Contrary to what he wanted, he left her, bending down to snatch up his gun and return to the wounded animal. It looked up at him with huge brown eyes. Its sorrowful bellows pulled the corners of his mouth down. On the banks, he could hear Ivy crying softly.
Raising the gun, he pointed it between the animal’s eyes and pulled the trigger. The gunshot reverberated off the banks of the river, scattering some nearby ducks. Then all went silent except for the rushing current. The soft sobs of a woman finally pulled him away from the beast and towards the river’s edge. She was now sitting on the snowy earth. Her black and gray skirts billowing out around her. It reminded him of a widow at the funeral of her beloved. He wondered if she would have cried for him if the bear had been successful in killing him.
“Come on.” He said nothing else, simply cupped her elbow and helped her to her feet. Then he turned them back toward the woods and their camp.
Chapter 12
Ivy felt numb inside. Even with the warmth of Sam’s arms about her. They were riding double again on horseback, making record time across the wilderness. Fort William would be arriving over the horizon soon. However, Ivy’s thoughts were far from that. Instead, the image of the bear looming over Sam shook her more than she realized. It had all unraveled so frighteningly fast. Thank God Sam had kept his good sense about him. If he hadn’t, she could only imagine what would have happened. She gave a shudder at the thought.
“Cold?”
His arms tightened and she instinctively went stiff. He had not spoken a word since the incident by the river. No doubt recalling how Ivy had simply stood there, trembling in fear, yet unable to shoot the animal. She had wanted to. God knew every instinct told her to do so. But her fingers refused to cooperate. Until their gaze met across the river. And she saw a look in his eyes that tore at her soul. He looked like a man awaiting death at the hands of his murderer.
Ivy.
The midday sun brought warmer weather which easily melted the snow from the night before. The result, however, left a muddy path before them. With every step, the horse’s hooves dug deep into the earth. Mud splattered its lower legs and the hem of Ivy’s skirts.
The smell of pine and spruce filled the forest. The odd sound of birds chirping could be heard overhead above the tree tops. Ivy grasped the horn of the saddle more securely in an attempt to keep from sliding back against Sam. He, however, appeared relaxed and quiet behind her.
When the sun eventually began its downward descent around the supper hour, Sam finally reined the horse into a stop. He silently slid from the saddle, then reached up and removed Ivy before she had a chance to object.
Without the sun’s warmth, she pulled the pelt closer as she watched Sam move about gathering twigs for a fire. She had watched him go about the task every day without uttering a word of help. Though several times she had almost spoken up before catching herself. They were most definitely not a team.
Most of her life had been spent tending to the needs of others, it was a natural habit. One hard to undo, but with Sam it had been effortless to remain distant. But after the bear incident, something in Ivy changed toward Sam. She didn’t want to admit it, but her heart had gone a little soft.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
He looked up surprised, but shook his head. “I’ve got everything under control.”
That he did. Perhaps that was why she still remained aloof. She didn’t like being controlled.
She found a place next to the fire pit Sam was building and sat down. Unconsciously, her eyes drifted up to him. On the exterior he appeared hard and impenetrable. Yet seeing him standing in the river today, she seen a vulnerability to him she had not witnessed before. For some reason she thought of earlier when he had forced her into his arms. The internal scars were clearly revealed. Whoever he had mistaken her for, had left their mark.
“Who was she?”
He paused only slightly, but she caught the look of understanding in his eye. For a moment she thought he might ignore her. But then he tossed a branch into the now glowing flames and lowered himself onto his haunches, his eyes fixated on the fire. Ivy knew his mind was not with her, but back somewhere in the past.
“My mother had red hair.”
Ivy blinked, not expecting that, but remained silent.
He glanced across to her, his eyes scanning her own flaming curls. “Darker than yours, though.”
Ivy’s eyes shot up to his own head of blond locks. As if guessing her unspoken question, he said, “My father.”
