AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He opened his eyes and relived his wife's pain when he glanced at Silver Fox and saw the tears rolling silently down her face.
Zac took a step toward Granger.
He backed up swiftly and threw his hands up to protect his face. "You're not going to hit me, too, are you?"
Zac stopped in front of the cowering man. "Who hit you?"
Granger turned a bright scarlet. "Prudence, in her anger, punched me."
Zac laughed and shook his head. He had to hand it to her. She was one spirited lady.
"Do you have any idea where she could have gone?" James asked Zac, concerned for his daughter's safety.
"There are a few possibilities. I'll check them out," Zac said. "You and Silver Fox make yourselves at home. And, Granger?"
Granger stepped forward. "Yes, what can I do to help?"
“You've given me all the help I can handle." He smiled, then leaned back and threw such a forceful punch to the man's face that it sent him onto his backside, sliding across the floor, to land against the stairs.
Zac walked over to him, grabbed him by his collar, and pulled Granger's head up, shaking him awake. When he was certain he had his attention, he spoke."Don't ever call my wife a savage again, or the next time I’ll kill you." Zac released him, and his head hit the bottom step with a loud thud.
"I suppose my daughter's safety is in your hands once again," James said.
"That it is," Zac agreed as he reached for his hat on the hall table. "Only this time it isn't your daughter I'm going after. It's my wife, and she's going to be damned sorry she challenged me on this one."
James opened his mouth in defense of his daughter.
"Don't bother saying a word. This is one time she's not going to get away with it."
Silver Fox stilled any further comment from her husband with a gentle hand to his arm.
"Zac."
All three faces turned to see Josh standing in the open doorway.
"I need to talk with you," Josh said, motioning for him to follow outside.
"I think we have our answer," Zac said, and then followed Josh out onto the porch.
CHAPTER 23
Prudence listened to the woeful tune of the wind as it whipped around the outside of the cabin. It reminded her of a wailing woman, crying out her grief and sorrow over the loss of a loved one. It was punctuated every now and then with the lonely howl of a wolf or the deep hoot of an owl. The once uncommon sounds were now a soothing melody to her, and she sat at the wooden table listening with pleasure to the strange symphony.
Josh had built a fire in the stone hearth before he had reluctantly left her on her own. He had predicted rain, insisting that a slight chill would accompany it. She was grateful for his expertise and for the wool shawl now draped around her shoulders over her blue nightgown.
The rain, she had no doubt, would start soon. She didn't worry overly much since the cabin was snug and warm, locked away from the outside world. She studied the small interior, amazed at how Zac could have spent so many years in this one room.
A wide bed occupied one wall, a chest another, the fireplace took up the third, and the door almost covered the fourth. Four square solid walls, no window, and no light, except when the door was open. A table and two chairs stood before the fire, and Prudence thought of the many nights Zac had probably sat as she did, watching the flames and dreaming of the future.
She shook her head, forcing the thoughts from her mind. She hadn't come here to make matters worse. She had come to decide what course of action to take. She didn't care for the idea of returning to Boston. She liked it here and she liked the people. But could she stay if she was no longer Zac's wife?
An odd noise interrupted the symphony outside, and Prudence listened to the changed melody. She thought she had heard a horse but wasn't certain. She listened more closely, jumping clear out of her chair when a pounding sent the door rattling.
"Prudence, let me in!"
Prudence sighed in relief upon hearing Zac's demanding voice. She rushed to the door, lifting the board that held it locked against intruders. Zac was admitted with a gush of wind and a splatter of rain.
Prudence stepped back as he forced the door closed.
He slipped off his long coat and hat, hanging them on the pegs near the door, and then turned.
She protectively tightened the shawl around her shoulders, clinging to the ends in front of her chest. He looked so handsome and so angry. The simple mixture and soft glow of the flames highlighted his good looks and brought an audible sigh of regret to her lips.
