Comanche Haven (The Loflin Legacy: Book 1) (9 page)

“
How do you feel this
morning?” he asked. With his coffee cup in his hand, Seth hunkered
down next to the fire.

Hesitantly, she glanced in his
direction.

He was staring intently into the
flames.

“
Fine.” She would’ve liked
to sound as in control as he did.

“
No aches?”

Her mouth thinned. “I’m tougher than
that, Seth.” She didn’t try too hard to hide the petulance which
crept into her voice. Presenting her arms for him to examine, she
rolled them to the right and then to the left. “See, no broken
bones.” Where had the defensive response come from? She lowered her
attention to her food. Their stilted conversation from last night
replayed in her mind. She didn’t trust herself to look too closely
at him in the light of day. She might lose control and tell him
what she hadn’t told him last night.

“
I’ll be saddling up here
shortly, so we’ll be ready to leave when the sun reaches the top of
the mesquite trees.” He used his chin to direct her attention to
the straggly trees bordering the campsite and trailing off in all
directions. Rubbing his hands across the thighs of his pants, he
stood.

A quiver of a smile curved her lips
despite her best effort to quell it. He’d used the Comanche way of
telling time.

“
What’s so funny?” Seth
asked gruffly when he caught her fighting the smile.

“
Nothing.”

He waited undeterred.

Celia knew she shouldn’t but something
drove her to explain. “I was just remembering. Do you recall how we
taught you to tell time using your surroundings as a sun
dial?”

Seth nodded.

“
We had some good times back
then.” Celia smiled wistfully at him as she made the
statement.

Seth found a sudden interest in the
tree line. “Yeah…good times,” A moment passed in silence. “It was a
long time ago.” His voice had reverted to the cool cowboy once
more. Dusting the legs of his pants absently, he towered over her.
“Get yourself ready, we’ll be leaving soon.”

His terse order stung. Celia was
frustrated to find she wasn’t as well equipped this morning for an
exchange of words with Mr. Loflin as she’d hoped. Something tugged
at her heart as she watched him walk away again.

***

The soft grasses beneath the horse’s
hooves gave way to trails beat out by the cattle, which roamed the
ranch land. Birds flitted through the low growing mesquite and
sycamores calling out to the riders as they passed by. The Kildee’s
shrill call warned them not to venture too close to her babies
nestled in the nearby scrub. Spring in Texas had always been her
favorite time of year. Celia rode and absorbed the sounds and
sights of the land. It was good to be back.

Preoccupied with everything, which had
happened, Celia hadn’t had time to think about her new life. What
would they find once they arrived at her father’s camp? “Have you
seen my father since you got back from West Point?”

“
A couple of times. I did a
stint in the Army before mustering out as a lieutenant. I was gone
for about eight years.”

“
Eight years…” Celia let the
words linger. “So, you were gone for a long time too.”

“
If you’re trying to say I
have no right to question you about why you left, then I’d have to
say I think you’re wrong. I have every right.”

“
I disagree. If you weren’t
here then you know nothing of our situation or what was going on.”
His defiance fueled her, and had her saying things she didn’t need
to say.

“
Well, why don’t you tell me
what your situation was? Then maybe I could understand why you were
gone.”

Seth’s words were surly and hard to
take in.

“
We were forced to
leave.”
Would he leave it at
that?

“
By who?”

“
Settlers.”

“
Settlers. Mind telling me
their names?” Seth’s muscles tensed all around her.

“
I don’t know who they
were.” She was glad she didn’t have to look him in the eyes. Lying
was much easier when you didn’t have to look the person in the
eye.

“
How did you get passage
back to Charleston?”

“
I told you Broken Horse
arranged it.”

Seth glanced at the sled. “I’ll be glad
when he wakes. Isn’t there something we need to do for
him?”

“
No, he will wake when he
gets ready.” Celia’s chest tightened when she thought of Broken
Horse and how her people would react to the attack. Red Bear,
Broken Horse’s brother, would want revenge. She was certain. From
what Broken Horse had told her in his letters, Red Bear hated the
white man – all white men indiscriminately, and saw war as the only
answer to keeping their land.

“
I don’t understand why
Father and Red Bear haven’t come looking for us by now,” she said
aloud.

“
We’ll find
them.”

***

“
Get me off this damn
thing!” the husky voice yelled behind Celia. She turned in the
saddle and peered behind Seth to the sled. Broken Horse wrenched at
the rope binding him. With a frustrated oath, he loosened his bonds
and sat up wobbly.

“
Well, it’s about time,”
Seth offered as Celia scrambled down.

Her heart raced as she ran the short
distance. Reaching Broken Horse, she gripped him hard and hugged
him fiercely. “I’m so glad you’re awake. How do you
feel?”

“
My head hurts like I’ve
been hit with an anvil.” With Celia’s help he stood, but stepped
away once he’d shook his head to clear the cob webs.

“
How’s your vision?” Celia
waited only a beat before snatching up his wrist to check his pulse
and peer deep into his eyes.

“
I see a couple of you.” He
grinned at her look of concern. “I’m fine, Celia, really.” He laid
a hand on her shoulder. “Quit mothering me.”

“
I was worried about you,”
she proclaimed in defense of her attentions.

Seth gave her an amused cock of his
eyebrow. “I thought he’d wake up when he woke up,” he
chided.

Irritation flitted across her face when
she cut her eyes at Seth. “It’s just good to see you up and
around,” she told Broken Horse.

“
Where are your clothes?
What happened?” His features creased in deep lines.

Celia dropped her gaze to the ground
briefly and waved her hand. “They took my clothes,” she said, shame
painting her face red.

Seth cut in. “She was attacked. I
happened upon her in the shallows of the creek near the site where
those two discovered you. They had her cornered in the creek and
were about to take her.” Seth lowered his head for a second and
then swore. “I took care of them. Both of them were my men.” He
raised his eyes to meet those of Broken Horse. “They’re
dead.”

Broken Horse only nodded. Reaching out,
he drew Celia to him.

She went willingly. Telling herself she
wouldn’t cry, she fought to hold back the wash of emotion rushing
over her. Wiping a stray tear, Celia looked up at her cousin. “I’m
so glad you’re all right.” Clutching his tunic, she rested her head
briefly on his chest.

Broken Horse turned back to Seth.
“Where are you headed?”

“
We’re looking for Lone
Eagle’s camp. It’ll be good to have another eye.” Smiling for
Broken Horse, Seth cocked his head in the direction of the horse.
“Want a ride?”

“
For a little while, til I
get my legs back.” Broken Horse motioned for Celia and they both
saddled up. “We can follow the creek from here. It shouldn’t be
much further,” he assured them.

Chapter 3

Smoke Clouds

Smoke rose in the sky in alarmingly,
dark clouds. Seth tried to ignore the way the hairs on his neck
raised at the sight such a large cloud of smoke ahead. Crossing the
high ridge, which led down to the creek, he’d spotted it the same
time as the others. Something wasn’t right. As they topped the hill
overlooking the creek, he gauged the distance to be about a half a
mile away.

Suddenly, Celia slid under Broken
Horse’s arm and off the horse. She landed in a heap but got up
quickly. Without anything to encumber her, Celia flew over the
ground. Down the steep bank, she ran and was at the water’s edge
before Seth had time to react.

“
Celia, wait!” Seth cursed
as he held out a hand to Broken Horse.

He took the offer of assistance in
sliding from Sarge’s back.

The damn woman was going to be the
death of him yet. With Broken Horse’s help, he unhitched the sled
and took off the knapsacks full of supplies while he berated
himself for getting involved in the mother of all
follies.

“
Easy now…woe, boy.” Seth
patted Sarge, who’d started to skitter with his master’s evident
agitation. When he got his hands on the little fool, she was going
to pay! “I’m sorry, old friend. But I have to go after her. If
you’re scattered over kingdom come when I get back, don’t worry,
I’ll take care of you.” Absently, Seth patted Broken Horse’s
shoulder.

“
No need to worry. I’ll be
along.” Gathering the saddlebags, Broken Horse started walking.
“Just go on and get the stubborn little wench.”

Wheeling, Seth leapt onto the horse’s
back and tore out.

“
Celia, slow down!” Seth
managed to catch up with her finally and was mildly surprised to
watch as she cleared a fallen tree and sprinted under low hanging
limbs. Grabbing her by the cuff of his coat, he lit in.

“
You stupid, little fool!
You can’t go charging in there without knowing what we’re up
against.” Taking a breath, he forced himself to soften his next
words. Concern etched his features as he pointed to the fire up
ahead. “Easy, Celia, we don’t know what we’ll find. You’re going to
have to let me go in first and have a look at things.”

“
Let me go!” She yanked away
and kicked at the horse’s flank. With her breath coming in pants,
she strained to get free.

The horse balked at the nearness of
Celia and shied away. Celia screamed as the horse stumbled and if
not for Seth’s quick wits would have fallen head first onto the
ground.

Kicking and cursing like a sailor,
Celia sprung up from the ground in time for Seth to grab her about
the waist. She beat at his chest and slapped at his face as she
made small feral, whining pleas for freedom. Remembering the knees
she used so effectively, Seth pinned her to a tree and eased back
only when she stopped wiggling. Her eyes darted frantically back
and forth from him to the dark smoke. “Are you going to behave and
let me be the one to check out the smoke or am I going to have to
tie you up?”

“
Despite what you think, Mr.
Loflin, I don’t need your help. So, would you kindly let go of me,
so I can gather my horse.” Her nose turned up slightly with the
request.

“
Look, I know you’re used to
taking care of yourself, but I need you to listen to me. This isn’t
Charleston. We could get killed slipping up on something we have no
business sticking our noses in.”

Cursing mentally, Seth tried again,
“Listen to me. Let me go first and see if things are okay.
Understand?”

“
Those are my people, Seth.
I’m going with you.”

“
No you’re not. Can you
shoot a gun?”

She nodded. “But…”

Giving her the revolver, he repeated
the question, “Can you shoot?”

“
Yes, I can shoot,” she
snapped.

Her mouth had thinned into a tight
white line, as she looked at all the smoke again. Seth could see
the wheels of her mind turning. With his own heart pounding in his
chest, he commanded, “Stay put, do you understand me? You’re gonna
have to wait. It may not be safe.” He hated the tone he used, but
the woman seemed hell-bent on doing as she wanted.

Even with the exasperation running
through him, Seth had to admit he admired her guts. He could see
the inner war she waged. He’d be hard pressed to obey orders
himself if it were his people under attack, so he tried to sound
sympathetic with his next words. Reaching out, he touched her arm.
“Look, it’s probably nothing, just a share-cropper burning some
brush or clearing a field.” Taking Celia’s hand in his, he squeezed
her fingers. “I’ll go check, if you’ll promise me, you’ll stay put.
Okay?”

***

Slowly, Seth advanced, using the scrub
bushes as cover. The undergrowth kept him concealed for the most
part, but he’d decided to dismount and leave his horse tied to a
tree some distance back just in case. If those responsible were
nearby, he didn’t want to alert them. Hefting his rifle, Seth bent
and moved silently forward. When the flames were visible, he
stretched out on his belly and inched his way forward the last few
yards until he had a clear view. He’d tried hard to convince
himself what he saw wasn’t Lone Eagle’s camp, but he
failed.

The sickly sweet cooper smell of blood
hung heavy in the air. What assailed his senses was staggering,
even for a former army lieutenant. Seth covered his face as best he
could with the kerchief around his neck. Smoke plumed up in thick
clouds and burned his nose and eyes. He’d never forget the bodies
littering the ground. Mangled and covered in blood were the remains
of warriors, women and children. To Seth’s mind, the people awoke
unaware. Women lay sprawled face down in the dirt still gripping a
spear or stick. Clay bowls used as weapons lay splintered around
the bodies of fleeing families. Innocent children, terrified and
dazed rested in slumped heaps still clutching their mothers, their
small faces frozen in horror. Some had made it out of their tents
to either run or try to make a stand. Others died in their beds.
The attackers had scalped a number of the victims.