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“Hey,” he said, cupping her chin in his hand and turning her face back to him. “Don’t think about him.”
She looked toward her lap. “It is hard not to.” Lifting her head, she sighed. “I do not think he will let me go, Ben. I would be surprised if he was not far behind us now.”
He leaned forward, kissing her until her shoulders relaxed, then pulled back. “If he is, we’ll deal with it.”
“And if he is not alone?”
“Then we’ll make sure they don’t catch us.” He grinned to lighten her mood, but her frown told him it wasn’t working. She was staring at her lap again. He hooked a finger under her chin to bring her head up. “Tell me what’s really bothering you.”
She stared at him for a long time before sighing, her voice nothing but a soft whisper when she said, “I am afraid.”
“Afraid of what? Walter?”
“Yes.” She reached out and ran a finger over the rope burn on his neck. “And of you getting hurt again.”
He smiled, hoping to lift her melancholy mood. “If I didn’t know any better, Morning Dove, I’d think you were falling in love with me.”
She snorted a small laugh and looked away, her cheeks turning pink. “I am serious, Ben.”
“So am I. Can’t say that I blame you, though. I am a charming guy.”
Neither said anything for long minutes, the look in her eyes growing darker, more solemn. “What are you thinking?”
She met his gaze. “I am thinking that maybe I should have stayed with him. It would be easier and no one would get hurt.”
“No one but you.”
She shrugged. “I am used to being hurt by him. He has been hurting me since the day I laid eyes on him and that day has haunted me—”
“—You shouldn’t give him that much power over your thoughts,” he said, interrupting her.
“I can not help it. My family is dead because I said nothing.” She laughed, but it was a bitter, sad sound that made his chest ache. “I always saw good in people. It was a fault my mother said I would one day live to regret, and she was right.
“I had never been exposed to the evilness of people and Walter was the first white man I had ever seen. My father said they were not to be trusted and I should have listened.
“When I saw Walter, he spoke to me. I did not know what he said so I ran to get my father. He followed me.”
She grew quiet, lost in her memories, and Ben said nothing, just sat there and let her deal with whatever ghosts were still haunting her.
“We were foraging near a river,” she lifted her head. “I do not remember where, but there were no others from our tribe with us. It was only my parents, my brother and myself. When I ran back to where they were and told them I had seen a white man, my father was instantly on alert, more so when Walter and two other men stepped into the clearing.”
Tears filled her eyes, anguish clear on her face when she whispered, “He killed them. No reason. He just…killed them. My father was first. He shot him, then my brother.” The tears fell freely now, her face twisted into agony. “What they did to my mother…They,” She sobbed for a moment, then wiped her face and took a deep breath. “Her fate was worse than death. She was barely conscious when they ended her life and the images of their cruelty will haunt me forever.”
Ben helped wipe the tears from her cheeks and leaned toward her, laying his forehead against her own before she said, “He will never let me go. I was eleven years old the day he found me. I did not speak English then, so I did not understand what he was even saying to me but I knew what was coming and I prayed he would kill me too.”
She met his gaze, the sadness he saw there enough to make his heart hurt.
“Instead of using me and ending my life like he had my mother, Walter kept me. We traveled for years before settling into a few small towns, and every one who saw me, he told them I was his wife, bought and paid for as if I was a horse or a cow and no one questioned him. No one cared what a white man did with an Indian girl. Most still do not.”
“I care.” He kissed her until she relaxed against him. “I’ll not let him hurt you. I’ll die trying if I have to.”
She blew out a breath, a single tear tracking down her cheek. “That is what I am afraid of, Ben. I do not want to be the cause of your death.”
He’d been teasing her about falling in love with him, but as he sat there staring at her, he wished it were true. He’d wanted her the moment he was introduced to her in Noah Lloyd’s barn. Had been drawn to her since first laying eyes on her the day Aaron got back into town. His heart had skipped a beat when he looked over and saw her. She had mesmerized him, left him speechless and staring like an idiot, but he couldn’t help it. She was beautiful and exotic, and no matter how many times he tried to put her out of his mind, he never succeeded.
He leaned forward to kiss her, taking his time tasting her lips before she sighed. The sweetness of her mouth was intoxicating. He’d been sober for going on two weeks now, and if she’d have him, he’d not even look at another glass of whiskey.
She pulled back and gave him a look through her lashes before reaching for the buttons on his shirt. His pulse leaped as she unbuttoned it. Pushing it off his shoulders, she leaned in and kissed his neck, the feel of her lips on his skin pulling a deep groan from his throat.
