Scars of the Heart (18 page)

“We, uh, better get back. I’m starving.” He managed a weak smile, which Carly returned.

She headed back toward the camp, then stopped to turn and peer up at him once more. “Kade, I’m glad you’re not dead.”

Her delicate fingers came to rest on his bare chest, branding her invisible mark on his flesh with a penetrating heat.

Carly awakened later than usual the next day. She suspected Little Bird kept the others quiet so Carly could rest. Dressing herself, she winced as sharp pain shot through her shoulder during the process. Reluctantly, she placed the sling around her neck to support her arm.

The brilliant morning sun blinded her as she stepped from the tepee. Shielding her eyes, she glanced about for Little Bird. If the small woman was truly who Carly searched for, why then was she scanning the male faces around her? She admonished herself under her breath and moved quickly through the camp.

People were busy at their morning chores, but several smiled or nodded in her direction. She returned their greetings, then noticed several older boys playing a game with a hide ball and long sticks in a nearby field. Laughing at their antics, Carly paid little attention to the path before her. A sudden collision sent her teetering back a few steps.

She looked to the seemingly immovable object. A woman, a very tall woman Carly had never seen before, stood glaring at her.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I guess I was too involved in the boys’ game . . .” She fumbled through her apology even though she knew the Indian couldn’t understand. She offered her best smile, but the stranger didn’t budge, neither in stance nor attitude.

Her feet remained squarely planted with her shoulders straight and rigid. She held her chin at a daring height and scowled down at Carly with black, narrow eyes. Carly suppressed a shiver that threatened to scale her spine.

“I, uh, realize you don’t speak English, but I truly am sorry. It was completely my fault.” She glanced around in the hope of finding an interpreter. The only other person who seemed to be paying them any attention was another woman who stood to the side of the path, watching the exchange with what appeared to be amusement.

Carly’s adversary spit out a rather abrupt string of words. When Carly looked back at her, a sneer distorted the woman’s thin lips. With a flip of her proud head, she joined her friend, and they moved on. Carly watched them go and stifled another shiver when the stranger turned to glare at her once more.

“Ah, so you decided to be awake.” Little Bird had to touch Carly’s arm and repeat the greeting before gaining her full attention.

“What? Uh, yes. Little Bird, do you know that woman?” She turned to point out the stranger only to discover the two women had melted into the landscape. Carly scanned the area sure she could spot the taller one. Little Bird’s face registered her confusion.

Carly shrugged off the incident. “Never mind.” She fell in step beside her friend. “I was searching for you.”

“Did you need something? Is your shoulder offering you pain?” Little Bird reached to inspect the afflicted area.

“No, I’m fine. Why did you let me sleep so late? I should be helping you this morning.” Little Bird started to protest, but Carly cut her off. “I really do feel fine. Surely there is something I can do.”

As Little Bird looked about them to the groups of workers, Carly took the opportunity to quickly scan the area for Kade. They’d had a delightful time last night, much to her surprise. The food was sumptuous, and he proved to be a well-versed conversationalist. Though their opinions differed on almost every current issue, they managed to keep the discussions civil. Seeing him among his people unsettled her since he chose to dress as the other men, but he also appeared more relaxed and enjoyable than she imagined possible.

“You could help with the children, if you insist.”

Little Bird’s presence had slipped Carly’s mind. “What? Oh, yes, the children. I’d be happy to. What do I need to do?”

“The bigger ones are learning to make jerky this day. Summer Song and the smaller ones are like pups tugging at moccasin strings. They will only be in the way. The elders are patient, but . . .”

Her hesitation told Carly that Little Bird felt she had asked too much. “I’d love to keep them busy. Really, I would.” She smiled reassuringly. “What do you suggest?”

The smaller woman peered up at the shimmering sun. “It is a hot day. The children like the water. If I send food with you, they will play for some time.”

“Wonderful. I wanted to wash my other dress today. I’ll get it while you find the children.”

Little Bird waved as she moved off. Her cheerful presence had been a real blessing to Carly these past few days. But Little Bird’s was not the smile Carly had hoped to see this morning.

Stretching with slow delight, Carly turned to the three small forms sleeping in the shade of a huge tree and resisted the urge to join them. The warm sun caressed her. And they looked so peaceful, like cherubs in their naked slumber.

Carly still found the exposure of so much flesh a bit unsettling. But watching Summer Song and her two young friends frolicking in the shallow stream—unaware of society’s rules and man’s prejudice—Carly thought this must be what God intended when he gave Eden to Adam and Eve.

Their laughter had been contagious. Carly found herself having more fun than she ever remembered, even as a child. Her upbringing, though enviable in most every respect, had been laced with discipline. Watching the cinnamon-skinned angels with their ebony halos askew in slumber, bodies exhausted from their play and bellies full from their lunch, Carly wondered if every child shouldn’t live this way.

Fighting back a yawn, she rose from the rock she rested on. She had washed her dress and hung it on a nearby bush to dry. Testing the bump on her head, Carly decided to wash her hair while she waited for the children to finish their naps.

She noticed how quickly her bar of lavender soap seemed to be shrinking but hesitated only a moment before kneeling by the stream. She bent at the waist and lowered her hair into the clear water. Only able to use one hand, she struggled to get the thick tresses wet, then lathered with the fragrant soap. Her inverted position caused the bump on her forehead to throb. Determined to rid her scalp of the sand and dried blood left there from the accident, Carly moved back to sit on the boulder.

Making slow progress at best, she reasoned she was in no hurry. The stream’s gentle gurgling was the only sound in the quiet clearing. The sky stretched wide and vibrant blue above her. A breeze sashayed through the tall grass. Carly breathed deeply of the lavender and smiled when she found herself humming a nameless tune.

“Need a helping hand?”

The question startled her so, she nearly fell from the rock. Kade stood a few feet away, watching her with a curious gleam in his dark eyes.

When she didn’t answer, he moved toward her. His gaze held hers and, somehow, stole her breath. He didn’t stop until he stood beside the boulder she sat on. When Kade reached for her, Carly jumped.

“You seem to be having some difficulty here.” He picked up a soapy strand of her hair and rubbed it between his fingers and thumb. “Between us, we have two good arms. If we cooperate . . .”

Her gaze lowered to the broad expanse of his bare chest and wide shoulders. His wound was healing nicely. New pink skin marked the sore area. “Uh, no. I can manage. You don’t have to—”

“I don’t mind.”

He moved behind her. With one hand, he gathered the trailing tendrils of hair to her head. Slowly, gently, long fingers massaged and stroked. Carly sat stone-still. The heat from his body warmed her back though he didn’t touch her there. His own unique scent permeated the lavender. She caught herself inhaling deeply.

“Are you going to help?”

Kade’s low voice reminded Carly her own hand still rested in her hair. Methodically she moved her fingers, all too aware of his nearness. She tried to relax, to tell herself that he was merely showing her a kindness. Yet her breath refused to fill her lungs. Her pulse beat wildly in the soft hollow below her breastbone. Her fingers trembled at their task.

A strong hand covered her own, kneading both it and her scalp. Carly closed her eyes. If this went on much longer—this mystical, magical misery—she wouldn’t be able to stand it. The heat from Kade’s body, from his touch, melted her insides as easily as the summer sun melted butter.

“I think we’re finished here.” His breath brushed her neck as he spoke.

Carly allowed him to take her soapy hand in his own and lead her to the bank of the stream. He guided her to lie on her back so that her head rested just at the water’s edge. Kneeling beside her, he cupped his hands to rinse away the bubbles.

As his fingers combed through the hair at her temples, Carly ventured a glance at Kade’s face. He concentrated on his task. Though his expression remained intense, his touch was gentle. She wondered if she were dreaming. Could this stoic Indian warrior, this man wanted for murder, this stranger who had won her in a poker game be washing her hair with a tenderness reserved for children and lovers?

Kade’s hands stilled. His gaze lowered to capture hers. For a moment, neither moved.

The breeze stirred loose strands of his ebony hair. The sun’s rays burnished his contoured flesh. His eyes smoldered with a fire Carly couldn’t identify yet responded to somewhere deep within.

He stood slowly, helping Carly to her feet. He led her back to the boulder. This time, he stood before her. With sure hands, Kade smoothed the excess water from her thick tresses, allowing it to run down her neck and back. His eyes followed the rivulet’s flow.

“We seem to have gotten your dress wet.”

His gaze settled on her bodice. Carly lowered her lashes to find the thin cotton dress clinging to her, doing little to hide her body’s response to Kade’s nearness. His fingertips deliberately reached toward her. They stopped a glistening bead of water as it traversed the swell of her breast. Carly sucked in her breath and closed her eyes. Slowly, achingly slowly, he traced the droplet’s path up her chest and neck.

As his hand cupped her face, his thumb caressed her cheekbone. She pressed deeper into his palm, eyes still closed, fearing this spell would break if she blinked, if she breathed. Carly had never known a man’s touch, not like this. She had never known anything this wonderful.

Kade’s knuckle moved to lift her chin a notch. She opened her eyes. His thumb caressed her lips, parting them, drawing his gaze there.

Carly trembled, afraid he would kiss her, terrified he wouldn’t. As if by her willing it so, he leaned toward her, his mouth stopping just shy of her own. She could feel his warm breath against her lips, could smell his masculine scent, could hear the beating of his heart.

The deep-chocolate pools of his eyes enveloped Carly as he brushed her lips so lightly, she doubted it was real. She started to cry out as he moved an inch away, but his thumb was there, to stroke and caress. When Kade finally kissed her again, there was no doubt. His mouth claimed hers in a heated embrace.

Every nerve in her body came alive. Warmth rushed through her, pooling in a private garden. She moaned against Kade’s mouth. His hand tightened at the back of her neck, drawing her closer to him. His tongue parted her lips, probing, sending a fresh wave of sensations coursing through her.

When he stopped, it was to move his affections to her neck, her ear. Carly’s head swam. Were it not for Kade’s strong embrace, she would’ve fallen from her place on the boulder. If she were truly dreaming, she prayed she would sleep forever.

“Carly. Sweet Carly.”

His voice was rough and low. With both hands, he tilted her head back, opening her mouth to receive his kiss. As she drifted toward him, a crashing in the bushes stopped them short.

Three braves thundered through the brush. After pulling their ponies up sharply, one warrior slid to the ground and rushed to Kade.

Carly gasped for breath as the two men exchanged words. She could tell the message was urgent. Kade seemed to thank his young friend, then turned to her with hardened eyes, all trace of his earlier passion gone.

“Soldiers. They’re headed this way.”

Crouching in the dense underbrush, Carly swallowed the acrid taste of an emotion she’d become too familiar with of late—fear. She strained to hear or see anything that might give her hope; hope that Kade was still alive, and hope that she would stay that way.

Once he’d been warned of the approaching danger, Kade and the other men had sped into action. She had been amazed at the quiet efficiency of the people. Even the children knew exactly what to do with little instruction. Taking only weapons with them, the Pawnee dissolved into the thick woods as noiselessly as the moon slipped behind a cloud.

Kade had helped Carly deliver Summer Song and her friends to Little Bird. As he turned to follow the men already moving in the direction the scouts had indicated, he paused. His ebony stare imprisoned Carly. Had he been trying to tell her to stay quiet, to behave? Or was the message something entirely different? Something akin to a promise?

Summer Song shivered beside her. Carly started to put an arm around the child’s shoulders, then smiled at Little Bird as her arm got there first. The dark-eyed toddler glanced from one woman to the other. Carly couldn’t imagine being that young and afraid for her life. Yes, many days lately she’d thought she wouldn’t live to see another. But to be so small, so innocent, so terrified.

She closed her eyes as her mind reconstructed the events at Sand Creek from just a few months past. Recounting Kade’s story, her imagination played out the elaborate and gruesome drama. Carly watched as women and children were struck down, and shuddered as she realized the faces were familiar. They were the faces of these gentle people she now lived among.

On the stage in her mind, Carly approached the lifeless bodies of a young mother and child, lying bloody and still on the river’s sandy bank. As she knelt beside the fallen pair, clouds skittered across the moon and pale light fell upon the faces of Little Bird and Summer Song. Carly quickly clasped both hands over her mouth to trap the scream that threatened to escape. She blinked hard to erase the elaborate drama her mind had unfolded and ignored the quizzical look on her companion’s face.