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He was still without his shirt when he lay back on his blanket. He opened his arms to her, and his warm, smooth skin welcomed her touch. Their lovemaking was eager and a bit desperate. When she finally mounted him, her orgasm overtook her after only a few strokes. He joined her with a groan of surprise. After that they lay in each others arms.

She stared into the flames long after his breathing slowed to that of sleep. Her body yearned for rest, but she fought it. She took deep breaths so she might lock his scent into her memories forever. She rubbed her cheek against his chest and savored the feel of his skin. She listened to his deep, slow breaths and the beat of his heart. She loved him so much yet what was she to him?

She tilted her head so she could look at his profile. He liked her and treated her with respect and kindness. Like a good friend. A good friend he enjoyed having sex with as often as they could.

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And though they were friends, he’d never mentioned love. She wasn’t positive what she felt was love, but she knew when they parted ways, her heart would be ripped out. She’d thought that organ destroyed years ago when the Savages had nearly killed her. But Brady had healed her and awoke that part of her. When he left her, she would go back to that hollow person she’d been. How was she going to survive this time?

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Brady worried about Cara as they drank their first real cup of tea in over twenty days.

She’d been quiet since they rose in the early morning and walked through curtains of mist to find their way down off the mountain. They’d arrived at the outpost well past dark, exhausted, hungry and foot sore.

There was only rough barracks built to house the half dozen men who stood watch on the northern trail. The building still smelled pleasantly of fresh cut lumber and sawdust. The shocked Realm men were all awake now. One of them prepared the tea and another sliced bread and warmed up a vegetable soup flavored with meat.

Brady’s mouth watered at the scent of meat and spices. There were fruit preserves for the bread. Nothing had ever tasted so good. Cara ate with less enthusiasm, adding to his concerns for her. She’d always been thin, but their recent meager diet had reduced her to nothing but muscle and bone.

They both wore borrowed clothing. The man’s shirt hung loosely on Cara so she appeared a child playing dress up in her father’s clothing.

“Everyone thought you were dead. Steele and Turan had teams out there for days searching for a way down that mountain,” Tom Flinn said. “I’m sorry, Captain. We should never have given up.”

“You probably would never have found the way down, Flinn. We searched nearly every hour of daylight we had and couldn’t find anything. It was only after the river went down and crossed to the other bank we lucked upon a way up. From the top, it probably wouldn’t even look like a possible climb.”

“Zeke Oman will be glad you’re alive, sir.” Flinn shook his head. “The poor guy returned to the Realm and hasn’t worked a day since.”

“It wasn’t his fault.” Brady took another sip of tea. It had sugar in it, the stuff of dreams.

“It was nothing but pure bad fortune that the tree sailed down on the flood at the right moment to take me out.”

“Diving in after him was the bravest thing I ever saw, Cara.” Flinn turned an admiring gaze on Cara.

“Or the dumbest.” But Cara looked pleased by the praise.

“And maybe the entire debacle wasn’t such bad luck. Us getting washed over the falls might have changed the world.” Brady and Cara filled the incredulous men in on their encounter with the Vitans and their level of civilization.

“You’ll think we’ll go back?” one of the men asked as he ladled out hot soup for Brady and Cara.

It was odd to not have to share his spoon. He took a sip of the soup and moaned his pleasure. “I promised them we’d be back.”

The men had a lot more questions, but the food and a promise of a warm bed was too much. The bunks were sturdy and simply made. The cotton-stuffed mattresses were thin protection from the thick wire bracing them. After sleeping on rocks and dirt for so many nights, ONE GOOD WOMAN SUSAN KELLEY 122

it was like lying down on a cloud. The blankets were clean, the room warm and they were completely safe.

Exhaustion should have pulled Brady under immediately, but his mind wouldn’t listen to the demands of his body. Cara huddled beneath a blanket on the bunk across the room from him.

Her eyes were closed, and her unbound hair spread out on the flat pillow. Her sword and knife were on the floor near to her hand. Always ready. Could he ever give her the security she needed to feel unafraid? Could she ever be completely happy? Would she ever trust him enough to let him love her?

He was afraid to say the words. It’d taken being stranded with the threat of never going home again for her to let him touch her. It’d taken their isolation from the rest of the world before she trusted him enough to confide in him of the horrors of her past. He understood her now, her earlier reticence, her dedication to Juston Steele, and her angry desire to kill Savages.

Her distrust of men made so much sense now. How could he convince her that he loved her and would never hurt her?

If they had been stranded a few more days, he might have found the right moment to tell her of his love. But as soon as their escape seemed eminent, she’d pulled back from him. Last night on the mountain side, he’d thought they were going to be all right, but since arriving at the outpost, she’d barely looked at him.

They still had a seven or eight day ride to reach Utopia, the training center situated halfway between Solonia and the Realm. He had time. If it came to it, he would declare himself and hope she was ready to hear it.

Despite the warm bed, full belly and sturdy walls, Brady wished they were still on the damned beach and alone under the stars.

* * * *

The morning of their fourth day on the ride home dawned with the promise of another hot, sunny day. They’d finally come down out of the mountains and were making good time on the beach. Their horses were well fed and rested from a month of rest at the outpost. Two of Flinn’s men accompanied them though Brady protested their need of an escort. But the two men were finished with their month of duty at the boring, isolated guard station and were impatient to return to their wives.

So instead of seven days alone with Cara, they were traveling with two men eager to talk about Brady and Cara’s adventure every waking hour. Tonight Brady was going to get her alone for a talk even if he had to throw her over his shoulder and carry her from camp.

So far she’d avoided him with so many obvious ploys it was laughable, but he wasn’t amused any more. Time was running out. When they reached Utopia, they would be surrounded by well wishers and questioned by everyone. He thought he had four more days and three more nights before they reached the settlement. Flinn had sent out one of the messenger pigeons with news of their miraculous return so they would be expected. Cara’s mother and his parents would be waiting for them, wanting to take them home and coddle them a bit.

Brady rode at the head of the small group alongside an older soldier named George.

There was little in the way of news from Parlania, the Realm or Solonia.

“No trouble with Savages at all?” Brady knew George from their forays together into the wilderness against the Savages. It seemed long ago when they’d ventured into the unknown and encountered the dangerous beasts.

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“Haven’t seen a Savage in nearly a year, sir.” George gestured toward the west. “With Commander Steele harrying them from the west, Claudia taming the lands north of the river and Utopia guarding the mountains, there’s no safe place for them to hide.”

“I wonder where they retreated to? What’s west of Solonia? Or did they go north?”

Brady knew the cold was a fierce opponent to survival in the north.

“According to the old maps they found in Parlania, it’s a harsh land out here. Mountains, cold and little in way of tillable land.” George spat at a bush they were passing. “Conflicts me some, sir. I’ve seen those creatures do some cruel, nasty things, but I hate to think of them starving because we pushed them out of their homelands.”

Brady sighed. Wait until more of the warriors met Bab’s tribe. They were going to be even more confused about their mission. Was fighting the Savages even their purpose any more?

He didn’t know, but he would do whatever he had to do to see Bab and her people left in peace.

“Someone’s coming,” Cara said from behind them. She maneuvered each time they rode out to avoid being beside him.

A column of horsemen trotted toward them from the south. Brady counted seven Realm soldiers, distinguished by their height, and three shorter riders who could only be Solonian warriors.

Erik Sim led the newcomers, his face lit with a wide grin. “I knew that river couldn’t beat you, sir. I told everyone you could swim like a fish.”

Brady laughed. “I’m not sure I like being called a fish, Sim. Probably more luck than skill saved us.”

“Well, we’re your escort. They’ll probably have a hero’s parade for you when you arrive in Utopia.”

Brady grimaced and tried to catch Cara’s eyes. But the Solonian warriors had already broken rank and now surrounded her. Two of them wiped at their eyes as they laughed and reached out to touch Cara.

They stopped for the day at the next stream. Sim’s men and women set up an efficient camp and soon had food heating and tea brewing. The Solonian women clung close to Cara.

Brady and Cara repeated their tale again around the friendly fire before they all settled down for the night. The women spread their blankets together on one side of the fire. If Cara longed for his arms as much as he desired to hold her, she gave him no assurance with either glance or word.

The next three days passed the same except it was even easier for Cara to avoid him with the large party. One of the women went with her to bathe and she slept in the midst of them.

Even mealtimes found her elbow to elbow with her fellow Solonians.

They rested and watered the horses before beginning the gentle but long climb from the beach to the plateau where Utopia had been built. The mountain trail narrowed in spots so only two horses could travel abreast. Brady was determined to make sure he was beside Cara on this leg of the journey even if he had to pull rank on every man and woman with them.

“Hold up!” Sim shouted as they mounted up in the cool, morning breeze off the sea.

“What the hell now?” Brady mumbled. More riders came toward them from the direction of Utopia. There was no mistaking the leader. Juston Steele sat his vicious stallion with the casual arrogance of a man who knew his own strength and position in life.

“You son of a bitch, Gellot.” Steele swung down from his war-trained horse. “You have the very luck of the devil. What do you mean carrying one of my best warriors away with you?”

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Juston crushed Brady’s hand and slapped him on the shoulder hard enough to remind him it had been only a month since he’d dislocated it. Steele then turned to Cara and pulled her into his arms with fierce emotion probably only Brady understood.

Cara hugged Steele back with as much joy and relief. Brady wondered that he felt no jealousy, but he knew Steele loved his wife, Katerina, devoutly. And Cara spoke of Steele as a beloved brother.

They broke apart and Steele grinned at her. “I brought someone with me. She couldn’t wait even one more day.”

One of the Solonian warriors helped an older woman down from her horse. It was easy to see she was Cara’s mother. She was slim like Cara though in a healthier way.

Cara met her halfway. Her mother folded as if her knees couldn’t hold her and then she had her daughter in her arms. She wept and laughed while babbling words of love and scolding.

Brady met Cara’s dry-eyed gaze. There was relief but also a plea for his help in her dark eyes. He went to them and helped them back to their feet. The warriors, Realm and Solonian, drifted away to give the women privacy for their joyous reunion.

“I’m Brady Gellot, dear lady. Your stubborn daughter saved my life.”

“Brady, this is my mother, Allana.” Cara supported her mother with an arm around her waist.

Gray streaked Allana’s blonde hair, and her brown eyes held some of the same ghosts that swirled in her daughter’s. Allana took one of Brady’s hands between her two slim ones.

“I’m forever grateful, sir. Thank you for watching over my impetuous girl. That she would dive into that river when she can swim nary a stroke ….”

Brady smiled at her and saw his charm worked on the mother if not her daughter. Allana gave him a watery smile in return.

“I would like to hope she took a chance because of some small affection for me.” He snuck a glance at Cara and encountered her glare, but her mother giggled.

“You are the charming one, Captain. I’ve heard the young ladies talk of you.”

“Allana, have you given Cara enough hugs?” Steele asked as he joined them. “The Gellots will be in Utopia by now and waiting to see their son.”

Juston laid his hand on Brady’s shoulder. Seeing Allana’s emotional reunion with her daughter made him anxious to see his own parents and relieve their grief. What agony had they faced since hearing he’d gone over the falls?