Love Lasts Forever (14 page)

The smirk on Thor’s face was maddening.
You are truly an insufferable man!
Willow’s breath came in huffs, and she turned away.

She paced from one large oak to another. Her mind wrapped around him and his proposition.
The nerve of him! He certainly leaves me with few choices.
Just when she believed he was unlike all the men she knew, he proved there were some things about men that never changed. They all believed they made the rules and that was that. She was mad enough to spit.

“What’s it gonna be, Willow?” he asked in his deep, soul-stirring drawl. “Time’s a-wastin’.”

“I know it is,” she mumbled. A twig snapped in two beneath her foot. She furiously kicked the remainder of it as hard as she could.

Her bottom lip trembled with agitation. Truly, her choices were limited. No child should be without a parent. Sparks of excitement rippled through her at the thought her planned rescue mission. She
had
to agree to his terms. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. She had no choice.

“Time’s a-wastin’,” she muttered, throwing his words back at him. “Let’s go.”

She stomped through the woods without sparing him another glance, but still felt his steady gaze on her. Her heightened sensations told her he was fully aware of her anger, and it bothered him. Of course, it didn’t bother him enough to change his mind and let her go alone.

“Willow.” His low voice interrupted the terse silence. “We’re partners on this.”

“Partners?” She sniffed in disdain.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Of course, it wouldn’t be right for me to just let you go off all by yourself, but that’s not the only reason for me going with you. I believe in your cause. I know what the future will bring and…well, even if I didn’t know, I’d still want to help you.”

His stalled comment about the future made her breath catch. She desperately wanted to know. Against her resolve to limit civil conversation with him, she spared him a glance. “What will the future bring?”

“I thought you understood. I can’t tell you.”

“Telling me won’t change a thing. I promise. I won’t mention a word to a soul.”

“It doesn’t matter. Besides, the future has already altered. Going with you now is a big risk, but it’s about the only one I’m willing to take.”

“It’s because you don’t trust me.” She directed her gaze back to the dark path before them.

“That’s not true. I trust you, Willow. It’s just that I’m not sure how this time travel thing works, and then in that movie…” A loud sigh passed from his lips. “Well, it feels like I’m running a play without a playbook. I’m playing everything by ear here, and I don’t want to mess up. It’s not just my future I’m thinking about. So many little things can be affected just by telling you something that I consider to be insignificant.”

“You said the future’s been changed. How do you know? What happened to change it?”

“I think I saved your life.”

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. “When?”

His large, warm hands closed over her shoulders. He bent slightly until their eyes were level. “This afternoon on the trail, an armed bounty hunter roamed the woods. If I hadn’t been here, you would have been with the children instead of me, or maybe you wouldn’t have been there at all. You left the lantern on the porch because of me, but they would have been in the woods alone anyway because their shepherd left them. Who knows if they would have found the reverend on their own? Maybe my being here saved you all. Maybe that’s why I’m here, to keep you safe. In all honesty, I don’t know if my presence is making things better or worse, but I do know that the bounty hunter wouldn’t have let any of you go.”

“He would have killed us.” Her blood ran cold at the certainty of it. Anders’s warning about strangers and the reverend’s latest restrictions came together in one bone-chilling whirlwind. While she initially fought Thor’s participation in her quest, she was certainly glad of it now.

During her talk with the children, they mentioned nothing about a slave patroller. She knew of the godless men who hunted Negroes like animals. Many of the precious cargo passed through the Browns’ home spoke of the narrow escapes they had. Her hatred ran deep for the men who relentlessly pursued runaways. With guns, dogs, and whips, they exercised horrific tactics. If somehow she had discovered those children wandering in the woods and been alone on the trail with them instead of Thor, only God could have saved them.

“Times are changing.” His hand gently caressed her cheek. “Everybody’s getting desperate.”

Willow nodded. Change stirred in the air. Brown and his followers moved with untold necessity. The same urgency fueled her desire to help. “You didn’t answer my question. Would he have killed us?”

“There’s no real way for me to know that, but it’s possible. I didn’t like the way he looked at Charity, and I know he would have…” The muscles in his jaw clenched. “Whatever would have happened wouldn’t have been good. If he hadn’t hurt you then, he would have sold you somewhere, and I don’t think you would have survived that.”

She bristled. “I’m not weak—”

“That’s not what I meant,” he growled as she tried to jerk free of him. “You’re so stubborn and willful! It drives me nuts, but I wouldn’t harm you because of it. I can’t say the same for slavers.”

Willow nodded. She wouldn’t have kept quiet if somehow she landed on an auction block. There was too much of her parents’ passionate nature inside her. Reverend Brown tried to mold her into a docile young woman, but a part of her refused restraint. She was usually able to hide it, but not with Thor. He saw through her defenses and broke down her walls without any difficulty. His ability made no sense to her, yet, she wasn’t afraid of it.

He continued to stare at her. “Now do you see why I couldn’t let you go alone? If something happened to you, I wouldn’t be able to stand it.”

His voice made her insides melt. The heat from his hands burned through the layers of wool and cotton to scorch her flesh. She moistened her bottom lip with the tip of her tongue. His responding groan vibrated through her. Her mouth hastily slanted across his.

He closed his arms around her, crushing her to his chest. The wild thud of his heart beat in unison with hers. When his tongue parted her lips, she gripped his shirtsleeves. Her knees weakened as he explored her mouth and overpowered her senses. She never wanted the kiss to end, but far too quickly, he pulled away.

“We can’t keep doing that.”

Her mouth still tingled, and an ache throbbed in her lower belly. These sensations were dangerous but too tempting to resist. Thor and the longing he created within her were too powerful to deny, yet too consuming for surrender. In order to rescue the children’s father, they would need their wits about them. Submitting to desires of the flesh was not an option. She couldn’t lose control like that again. Too much was at stake.

“It’s not that I don’t like kissing you,” he said while she remained quiet. “God knows, that’s not the case. I like it too damned much if the truth must be told.”

“I understand. We’d better keep going.”

* * *

Shit!
Why is she so damned understanding?
Thor fell into step behind Willow, and her rounded backside immediately drew his attention. Baggy trousers did little to lessen her rear’s appeal. His hands itched to mold themselves to the curves brushing against the worn material. During their embrace, her slender thighs pressed hard against him and created a yearning to the depths of his soul. Her unintentional sexiness put all of Calvin Klein’s models to shame. Willow Elkridge simply drove him wild.

The Magnusen cabin appeared in the clearing. He caught her hand as she moved to go past it.

“What?” she whispered. “Did you change your mind?”

“No, but I wanna stop here. We’ll need money.”

“Mr. Anders won’t give us any.”

“Maybe; there’s only one way to find out for sure. You can stay out here. I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll go with you if you don’t mind. I left a note for the reverend and Miss Olivia. I may as well tell Miss Eva good-bye just in case…”

Thor nodded. The danger of their adventure couldn’t be forgotten or ignored. This was definitely a life or death mission.

“Maybe. She was asleep when I left, but I’m pretty sure Anders won’t keep quiet when he sees us at his door. She’ll wake up and you can say what you need to.”

As they approached the cabin, he reluctantly released her hand. He rapped his knuckles against the door. “Anders, it’s Thor.”

Low noises rustled on the other side of the door and drifted out through the open windows. Unintelligible whispers sounded. Light glowed from inside the cabin. Soon after, the door opened. Anders stood in the doorway with a candle in his hand. His eyes glowed with suspicion. “Weren’t you going to the Browns?”

“There’s been a change in plans. I need to ask for a favor.”

Anders squinted as he looked past him. “Who’s that with you? Come to the light so I can see you.”

Willow stepped to the doorway. Anders held the light up to her face and moved it downward.

“Why are you wearing men’s clothing? What mischief are you into now?”

“It’s not mischief, Mr. Anders.” She turned to Thor. “I told you this was a bad idea.”

“Let’s just wait and see. Anders, about that favor—”

“What do you want?” the wary man asked. “I told you before. I won’t do anything that would bring harm to my family.”

“I know that,” Thor replied through clenched teeth. “I’m not asking you to do anything.”

“Well?”

“I want some money,” Thor bluntly stated. “What I mean to say is that I want to borrow some.”

“For what?”

“Anders, please!” Eva appeared beside her husband. Waves of rich brown hair flowed onto her shoulders. A plaid robe stretched around her swollen abdomen. She held a glass of milk in one hand while she beckoned with the other. “Please, come in, and we’ll see what we can do.”

“Eva,” Anders clipped, “we don’t know him from Adam, and we don’t know what he plans to do with the money. He says borrow, but that don’t make it so.”

“He’s family, and that’s good enough for me.”

Eva gestured with her hand for Thor and Willow to enter. Thor followed Willow inside. A burning lantern glowed from the center of the table. The mother-to-be sat and invited everyone to do the same. Once they all sat down, she gave Willow a long, hard look. “Why are you dressed like a boy? That’s unseemly, Willow!”

“It’s a disguise. It’s safer for me to travel as a boy and easier, too.”

“Travel? Where are you going?”

“Down south, onto a plantation.”

“You mustn’t!” Eva gasped. Color drained from her face. “You can’t go down there.”

“She won’t be alone,” Thor replied. “I’ll be with her.”

“Why are you going?”

“We know why they’re going,” Anders stated quietly, “and that’s why he came here asking for money.”

“I asked to
borrow
money. I don’t expect a donation. I know your feelings on this subject.”

“But you can’t do it,” Eva protested. “It’s too dangerous. Both of you could be killed! Does Reverend Brown know about this?”

“No, ma’am, he doesn’t know,” Willow said. “This is something that I have to do. I can’t keep watching in the background.”

“That’s not all you do. You have helped many runaways. You don’t have to put yourself into this kind of danger to keep helping them. I don’t understand this at all, Willow. Anders, go get the reverend so he can talk some sense into her.”

“Don’t,” Thor said. “She’s made up her mind, and so have I. If Anders leaves, we’ll go right now.”

“But what about my baby? You promised to be here. I don’t know if I can do this without you.”

“Eva, stop begging,” Anders said.

“I’m not!” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “But I will if that’s the only thing that will make her see reason!”

Willow rose from the chair and knelt beside Eva’s chair. She patted her friend’s hand. “Don’t cry, Miss Eva. I wish you could understand why I have to do this. Those children aren’t orphans. They have a father. I’m going to get him.”

“What children?” Anders gave the three of them a hard look.

“Three runaways passed through the woods, and we showed them to safety. Don’t worry. They didn’t come inside.” Thor stood. “Willow was right. We shouldn’t have stopped here. Eva, I’m sorry you’re upset. We know the risks. Alone, she’d be in grave danger, but I promise to do everything I can to keep her safe.”

Anders shook his head. “Not dressed like that. Slave owners have fancy clothes. They don’t travel in a flannel shirt and a pair of threadbare britches. And they certainly don’t travel without money.”

He grabbed a tin can from the mantel. He pulled out a leather pouch and spilled its contents onto the tabletop. Silver and gold coins clattered into a good-sized heap. He retrieved several pieces and handed them to Thor. “You can use these. I have a suit coat, pants, and boots you can wear, too. The money isn’t a loan, but the suit is. I was married in it, and I want it back.”